United States: Managing Retail Employer Risk And The Janitorial Services Contractor-Subcontractor Relationship

Executive Summary:  Discount retailer Ross Stores, Inc.’s (“Ross”) recent proposed settlement of a California labor law class action filed by immigrant and low wage subcontractors related to janitorial services performed in its Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts stores highlights retail employers’ risk in managing the janitorial services contractor–subcontractor relationship. Specifically, despite contracting with an independent third-party provider, who in turn subcontracted performance of the janitorial services to smaller, local businesses, Ross could […]

By | February 20th, 2015 ||

United States: Second Circuit: Class Certification Is Alive And Well In Employment Cases Involving Individualized Damages

On February 10, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Roach v. T.L. Cannon Corporation,1 resolving the question of how the Supreme Court’s Comcast Corp. v. Behrend decision should be interpreted in the Circuit. Comcast concerned the certification standard for damages class actions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3).2 In Comcast, the Supreme Court held that it was improper to certify a class where questions of individual […]

By | February 19th, 2015 ||

United States: Termination Of Employee For Engaging In Outside Work While On FMLA/CFRA Upheld, But "Honest Belief" Standard Not Addressed

In Richey v. AutoNation, Inc., the California Supreme Court held that an arbitrator committed no legal error when he determined that an employer lawfully terminated an employee for engaging in outside employment while on FMLA/CFRA leave, but declined to adopt the arbitrator’s reliance on the “honest belief” defense.

Avery Richey was employed by Power Toyota, part of the AutoNation consortium of automobile dealerships, since 2004. In February 2008, Richey opened a seafood restaurant while working […]

By | February 19th, 2015 ||