This post was authored by Amit Katzir
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Janus v. AFSCME, a case out of Illinois challenging the constitutionality of mandatory agency shop fees for public employees. Illinois, like California, is one of several states where agency shop arrangements are authorized in the public sector.
Under
In April, we reported on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, which held that sex-discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Like the California federal trial court in Videckis v. Pepperdine University, the
Religious diversity, including the protection of religious minorities, is a core American value, as shown by its prominent placement in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in the establishment and free exercise clauses. California is, unsurprisingly, a leader in religious diversity. Many religious believers adhere to, and find deep meaning in, religious observances including
Violent and tragic events in Charlottesville, and the intense national debate that followed, have put the issue of hate speech at the forefront of the public’s attention. A number of publications have addressed the issue of when a private employer can discharge an employee who, on the employee’s own time, participates in organized hate speech.
A newly-elected official is going to want to fill top posts in their organization with persons committed to the official’s vision for the future. In the same way, a top official after a period of months or years may want to change key lieutenants because of political differences. Indeed, this ability to pick and choose
This blog post was authored by Kim A. Overdyck.
On May 13, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” and accompanying Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students in response to the high volume of questions received regarding civil
Update: On December 11, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided to re-hear Dahlia v. Rodriguez en banc. Accordingly, public agencies can no longer rely on the three-Judge panel opinion discussed below. A panel of eleven Judges will re-hear the appeal. The opinion of that en banc panel of the
This guest post was authored by Judith S. Islas
Last November UC Davis police donned in riot gear used pepper spray on a group of student protestors at an “occupy” movement demonstration held on the university campus. That pepper spray incident was captured on video. It triggered an internet and media frenzy, multiple investigations and
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 light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in United States v. Jones. Although Jones does address the use of GPS devices to track vehicles, the holding
This guest post was authored by James Oldendorph
On August 3, 2011, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a public employee had not knowingly waived his right to a due process pre-termination hearing by signing a “last chance agreement,” and that the public employer violated his due process right by not