On July 9, 2014, on an issue of first impression, the Ninth Circuit held that motor carriers are not exempt from California’s meal and rest break laws under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”). As a result, motor carriers with employees in California should make sure their wage and hour policies comply with California law.

On May 20, 2014, the First District Court of Appeal in Jong v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (2014) WL 2094270 affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of Kaiser and held that Jong failed to raise a triable issue of fact regarding his alleged off-the-clock overtime work activity. This case illustrates the importance of employers having strong and well-documented policies regarding overtime and off-the-clock work.

Chris Scali's article, Legislative Developments to Enhance Enforcement Against Trade Secret Theft, was published in the April 2014 issue of ELIPS Law Lab, a publication of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. In his article, Mr. Scali explores legislation which may allow for a meaningful federal private right of action for the protection of trade secrets.

The Scali Law Firm is pleased to announce the addition to its team of labor and employment attorney, Dominique Nasr. Dominique brings to the firm her employment advice and counsel, wage and hour class action and employment discrimination and harassment litigation skills.

On April 3, 2014, the California Supreme Court heard Oral Argument in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (“Iskanian”), a case that will determine whether impediments to arbitration of class wage and hour and other employment claims continue to be viable after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (2011) 131 S.Ct. 1740. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Iskanian will have far-reaching implications for California dealers; it will either remove the impediment to arbitration that Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 and the prosecution of Labor Code Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims potentially represent, or it will decide that such impediments are viable justifications to deny enforcement of an otherwise valid arbitration agreement. Individual arbitration of employment disputes allows the dealer and its employee to resolve any wage and hour claims through arbitration and effectively nullify the risk of class proceedings.

Chris Scali's article, Social media sells cars: Implementing a successful social media program can prevent unfair competition, was published in the March 2014 issue of Defender, a publication of the National Association of Dealer Counsel. In his article, Mr. Scali discusses ways to obtain trade secret protection of social media accounts used and maintained by employee's for the benefit of the employer. This article gives tips for broadening a company's intellectual property assets and expanding its rights to prevent departing employees from unfairly competing with it.

On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission released its top consumer complaints for 2013. Identity theft tops the chart, with "Auto Related Complaints" coming in at #7. Dealerships should take steps to protect the data in their Dealership Management System (DMS).

If a plaintiff’s lawyer sends you a demand letter, you should immediately send it to your own lawyer for a response. A decision that the Appellate Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court handed down last month shows why.

The Federal Trade Commission and the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs announced a nationwide enforcement action targeting deceptive auto dealer advertisements—called “Operation Steer Clear”—which has already resulted in the voluntary settlement of complaints against nine new and used auto dealerships across the country.

This recent opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has potentially given consumer advocates carte blanche to open the floodgates of discovery into deal jackets to obtain information concerning the citizenry of putative class members in the context of a mere pleading motion.