In April, after retiring from his partnership, Robert D. Daniels joined The Scali Law Firm, Of Counsel, to continue to mentor young associates, assist Mr. Scali in handling the firm’s litigation and F&I compliance programs and advice and counsel.

The Scali Law Firm is pleased to announce that it’s own Dominique Nasr was selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as a 2015 Rising Star in the legal field of Employment and Labor.

Phishing techniques have become much more sophisticated, with hackers doing reconnaissance on their victims, targeting those in your organization that have access to confidential financial information or non-public, private information of customers. They cull data from the Internet and social media sites, such as LinkedIn, for tidbits of personal and professional information that can be used in making phishing emails look legitimate. They know where their victims work, whom they do business with, the names of their bosses, and email addresses. The tactic is called spear-phishing.  How do you protect against it?

A federal district court held that auto dealerships are not required to install hand controls in vehicles they offer for sale in their inventory to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This was the most recent in a series of victories of this type for auto dealers in California faced with these types of lawsuits. But this story isn’t over.  And we strongly urge you to discuss an appropriate course of action for your dealership with your automotive attorneys, because this issue will not be fully resolved for some time to come.

A sales manager is hauled away from the dealership in handcuffs with Department of Justice officials standing by. At his arraignment he is charged with several counts of fraud and grand theft auto. The local news media is all over this story and highlights the dealership in local coverage. Customers start complaining. Employees quit. Good times. What should you do if your employee is arrested/charged, but not convicted, of a serious crime, endangering your business' reputation?

The California Supreme Court says a prevailing employer in a discrimination, harassment or retaliation case under the Fair Employment and Housing Act cannot recover mere “costs” without a finding that the employee’s claim was frivolous.

Employers have increasingly relied on arbitration agreements with employees for disputes arising out of the employment relationship, and class action waivers contained in those agreements have provided a means to avoid class or representative actions for those disputes as well. In 2014, the California Supreme Court affirmed the enforceability of class/representative action waivers in arbitration agreements generally, but carved out an exception for actions brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). However, a number of federal courts have issued contrary rulings, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal just heard arguments on this same issue in a trio of consolidated wage-related cases.

The Scali Law Firm is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the California New Car Dealers Association to draft its 2015 Advertising Manual for dealers. With its first new edition in over 8 years, the CNCDA’s Advertising Manual has been given a complete overhaul. This new edition contains easy to read rule sets, examples, best practice notes and FAQs.

This Alert is generated to calm any panic caused by reports from other sources that service advisors are no longer exempt from overtime pay requirements under federal law as a result of the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Navarro v. Encino Motorcars, LLC. At least for now, for California-compliant dealerships, Navarro should have no effect.

The Scali Law Firm is pleased to announce its expansion into San Diego and the addition of Jennifer Woo Burns, as attorney of counsel, and Paul Neumann, as Senior HR and Operations Specialist. Together they bring extensive experience in human resources and employment law and will join The Scali Law Firm in San Diego.