Partner Emily J. Fox has been selected for inclusion in San Diego Business Journal’s Women of Influence in Law 2022. This recognition celebrates women trailblazers in law by highlighting their careers and significant accomplishments within the San Diego community.

Partners Daniel C. Gunning and Lonny M. Zilberman were recently selected as two of of San Diego's Top Attorneys by SD Metro. 

Ideal candidate will have mid to senior level class action litigation experience, strong credentials, excellent research, writing and oral advocacy skills required. 

Ideal candidate will have an excellent knowledge of state, federal and appellate rules and experience with litigation calendaring software. Must be very detailed-oriented, able to research court rules and work independently.  Accuracy is essential.

SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2022) – Wilson Turner Kosmo, one of the largest women-owned law firms in California, is home to eight attorneys selected for inclusion on the 2022 San Diego Super Lawyers list that includes no more than 5% of attorneys in the region.

The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana on June 15, 2022.  The Court held that private arbitration agreements between employers and employees are enforceable when the employee agrees to waive the right to bring a representative action under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) on behalf of other aggrieved employees, so long as the arbitration agreement allows for arbitration of the employee’s individual PAGA claim. Thus, in Moriana, the employee’s PAGA claim on her own behalf could proceed in arbitration.

On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the case Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., concluding that meal and rest break premiums are “wages” that must be reported on California wage statements and paid within statutory deadlines when an employee leaves the job.

Employers nationwide will no longer be able to require employees to arbitrate sexual assault or sexual harassment claims, regardless of whether they have otherwise enforceable arbitration agreements, pursuant to a new law passed by the U.S. Congress on February 10, 2022.  President Biden is expected to sign the law (H.R. 4445), entitled the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021,” which was passed with broad bipartisan support in the United States House and Senate.

Today California Governor Gavin Newsom will sign a budget bill (SB114) creating a new entitlement to supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) for reasons related to COVID-19.  The new law is similar to the prior SPSL law (AB84/SB95), which expired on September 30, 2021.  (WTK’s Special Update on the 2021 law can be found here.)  The bill will take effect in ten days – on February 19, 2022, but will apply retroactively to January 1, 2022, and will be effective through September 30, 2022.

The California Legislature has been quite active as its summer recess approaches, including as the key deadline for bills to pass the first legislative chamber has now expired.  Not surprisingly, many bills were unable to surmount this key hurdle and are presumably stalled for this year, including bills that would have amended the FEHA to preclude “family responsibility” discrimination (AB 2182), required larger employers to submit annual reports detailing work-related statistics (AB 2095), required employers to develop worker biometric policies (SB 1189), and encouraged employers to provide student loan repayment assistance for employees (AB 1729).

With the expiration of the deadlines for bills to pass initial key committee votes, the California Legislative Session for 2022 is coming into clearer focus.  To the relief of many employers and human resources professionals, some of the more controversial employment bills appear to have stalled, including the proposed four-day workweek (AB 2932), the wide-reaching Workplace Technology Accountability Act (AB 1651), and the mandatory COVID-19 workplace vaccination rules (AB 1993).  There were also several employer-sponsored bills that stalled, including proposed further extensions of the employment information exemption to the California Consumer Privacy Act (SB 1454/AB 2871/AB 2891).  

With the arrival of Spring, the California Legislative Session for 2022 is fully underway, with most bills heading to key initial committee votes in their chamber of origin before the April 29th deadline.  Although this is only the first step in the legislative process, these substantive committee votes will indicate which bills have enough support to move forward and which bills will be culled early in the process.  Not surprisingly, there are a number of significant employment bills under consideration.

The 2022 Legislative Session is officially underway and has already resulted in new laws at the federal level limiting employment arbitration agreements regarding sexual assault/harassment claims (HR 4445) and in California reinstating COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SB 114).

Last December, Riot Games agreed to pay $100 million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit that was brought, in part, by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The gaming company was accused of tolerating a ‘bro culture’ in which women were subjected to sexual harassment, pay inequities and gender discrimination, as well as a constant barrage of obnoxious and toxic behavior.

As best as I can recall, it was over three decades ago that I first heard the phrase "sexual harassment." It was October 1991, and along with millions of Americans I watched the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court appointee Clarence Thomas with amazement as an all-male panel of senators interrogated then-35-year-old law school professor Anita HIll about porn stars and pubic hair on a Coke can, among other previously unthinkable subjects for a Senate committee hearing.