Pressing The "Like" Button, Reluctant Counselors, And Key Lieutenants - First Amendment "Hot Topics"

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Several types of First Amendment cases have taken center stage this year, as free speech lawsuits by public employees continue to proliferate. This post addresses three areas that qualify as "hot topics."

1. Pressing "Like" on Facebook: Courts continue to struggle with...

CalPERS Reduces Employer Impact by Phasing-In Change in Contribution Rates

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 PST

On March 14, 2012, our

U.S. Supreme Court unanimous decision: private individuals retained to carry out government work are entitled to seek qualified immunity in section 1983 suit

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 PST

Nicholas Delia,...

Computer Hacking Law Does Not Prohibit Employees from Misusing Data They Are Authorized to Access

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 PST

Last year Peter Brown was honored with the President's Award by the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPELRA) for his extensive work with pu...

Trouble-Shooting The Hiring Process For A Public Agency

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 PST

There are numerous signals that the U.S. economy is recovering – unemployment numbers are improving in California and elsewhere, there are mixed indications of a brighter housing market, and the stock market over the last months has improved substantially. The overall mood may have also tur...

CalPERS Approves Lowering The Discount Rate to 7.5%; CalPERS Employers Will Be Paying Higher Contributions

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 PST

On March 14, 2012, the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees' Retirement System ("CalPERS") approved lowering the "discount rate" or "rate of investment return" from 7.75% to 7.5% in its assumptions when it determines employer contribution rates. This means that e...

Current Peace Officers May Inspect Personnel Records Under POBOR

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 PST

In Barber v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Court of Appeal held that a terminated peace officer no longer has a right to inspect personnel and internal affairs records under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act ("POBOR").

The Calif...

Does Discrimination Occur Against Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities?

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 PST

Balancing work and family is becoming increasingly difficult. Workers are not only responsible for caring for their own children but many are now the primary caretakers of aging parents. It is also not uncommon for grandparents to care for grandchildren or for an aunt or uncle to care...

Anti-Slapp Motions As A Litigation Resource For Public Employers

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Public employers in California have a powerful tool available to them in California's anti-SLAPP statute, California Civil Procedure Code section 425.16. This availability was confirmed in a recent case named Peter J. Brown and Connie C. Almond

In Marken v. Santa Monica Unified School District, a School District investigated a co...

Court Finds Unlawful Intent Is Missing From Jury Instructions On Retaliation, But Is It Missing From Instructions On Disability Discrimination, As Well?

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

The California Court of Appeal recently highlighted a fundamental flaw in the California Civil Jury Instructions ("CACI") on a cause of action for retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"). The instructio...

What Does The Supreme Court's Ruling In US v. Jones Mean For GPS Tracking By Employers?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

Last summer we reported that an employer may under California law use GPS devices to track employer owned or leased vehicles. We recently revisited this issue in lig...

CalPERS Issues Circular Letter Clarifying Uncertainties Raised By AB 1028 On Post-Retirement Employment And Raising New Ones

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

This guest post was authored by Steve Berliner

Assembly Bill 1028, which took effect on January 1, 2012, amended cer...

Handling Layoffs After Elimination Of Redevelopment Agencies

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

This post was co-authored by Melanie Chaney

Since the California Supreme Court issued its ruling at the end ...

Supreme Court Recognizes That The "Ministerial Exception" Under The First Amendment Precludes Retaliation Claim Brought Under The ADA

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

This post was co-authored by David Urban and Micahel Blacher

On January 11, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hosanna-Tabor Ev...

You Say "Termination;" I Say, "Retirement." Is It Just Semantics Or Are They Mutually Exclusive?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

For every death certificate filed, there is one "manner" and one or more "cause(s)" of death. The manner is essentially whether it was accidental, natural, suicide, homicide or undetermined, but there can be only one. The cause, though, is more specific, such as exsanguination o...

Individual Employees Cannot Be Sued In State Court For Military Discrimination

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

California's Military and Veterans Code contains protections against discrimination for members of the armed forces. Recently, the issue of whether an individual can be held personally liable for discrimination was addressed.

In ruling upholding a law that eliminated redevelopment agencies throughout the State. This closely watched lawsuit stemmed from two measures passed by the Legislature last summer to ...

News from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Pressing The "Like" Button, Reluctant Counselors, And Key Lieutenants - First Amendment "Hot Topics"

CalPERS Reduces Employer Impact by Phasing-In Change in Contribution Rates

U.S. Supreme Court unanimous decision: private individuals retained to carry out government work are entitled to seek qualified immunity in section 1983 suit

Computer Hacking Law Does Not Prohibit Employees from Misusing Data They Are Authorized to Access

Trouble-Shooting The Hiring Process For A Public Agency

CalPERS Approves Lowering The Discount Rate to 7.5%; CalPERS Employers Will Be Paying Higher Contributions

Current Peace Officers May Inspect Personnel Records Under POBOR

Does Discrimination Occur Against Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities?

Anti-Slapp Motions As A Litigation Resource For Public Employers

Court Finds Unlawful Intent Is Missing From Jury Instructions On Retaliation, But Is It Missing From Instructions On Disability Discrimination, As Well?

What Does The Supreme Court's Ruling In US v. Jones Mean For GPS Tracking By Employers?

CalPERS Issues Circular Letter Clarifying Uncertainties Raised By AB 1028 On Post-Retirement Employment And Raising New Ones

Handling Layoffs After Elimination Of Redevelopment Agencies

Supreme Court Recognizes That The "Ministerial Exception" Under The First Amendment Precludes Retaliation Claim Brought Under The ADA

You Say "Termination;" I Say, "Retirement." Is It Just Semantics Or Are They Mutually Exclusive?

Individual Employees Cannot Be Sued In State Court For Military Discrimination