Kelly A. Knight is an attorney and mediator based in Los Angeles, CAlifornia. He handles matters throughout California.

Archive

October 2017
- Oct 17, 2017 Ly v. County of Fresno: Court of Appeal holds that res judicata applies to FEHA action due to allegations in worker's compensation action Oct 17, 2017
- Oct 17, 2017 Kelly A. Knight speaks at annual LACBA Nuts & Bolts seminar Oct 17, 2017
- Oct 27, 2017 Latest California appellate opinion affirming denial of arbitration provides guidance on unconscionability analysis Oct 27, 2017
November 2017
- Nov 6, 2017 In blockbuster case, Ninth Circuit holds that "tax adjustments" to back-pay awards are an equitable form of relief in Title VII cases. Nov 6, 2017
- Nov 16, 2017 California Court of Appeal reaffirms key principle: evidence of pretext is not required to defeat summary-judgment motions in employment cases Nov 16, 2017
December 2017
- Dec 5, 2017 California Court of Appeal opens major hole in rule of PAGA non-arbitrability: post-dispute arbitration agreements Dec 5, 2017
January 2018
- Jan 9, 2018 Short take on Lawson v. ZB, N.A.: Fourth District Court of Appeal departs from Esparza, holding that unpaid wages under Labor Code section 558 are recoverable as civil penalties under the PAGA Jan 9, 2018
- Jan 10, 2018 Ninth Circuit holds that the Fair Labor Standards Act only requires the average hourly wage over a workweek to meet the minimum wage, even if some hours are paid at less than the minimum wage. Jan 10, 2018
- Jan 11, 2018 Update in Ly v. County of Fresno: California Supreme Court denies review and decertifies the Court of Appeal's opinion Jan 11, 2018
- Jan 22, 2018 Sayta v. Chu: yet another reminder to lawyers that retention of jurisdiction under section 664.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure must be sought from the trial court before dismissal Jan 22, 2018
- Jan 23, 2018 Khan v. Dunn-Edwards Corp.: a bizarre situation leads to grant of MSJ based on defective PAGA notice that failed to allege that there are other aggrieved employees Jan 23, 2018
February 2018
- Feb 28, 2018 Privette doctrine bars wrongful-death claim when window-washer employee's death was partially caused by building owner's failure to install statutorily required structural roof anchors. Feb 28, 2018
March 2018
- Mar 6, 2018 California Supreme Court clarifies that flat-sum bonuses must be divided by the number of nonovertime hours worked when calculating the "regular rate of pay" for overtime purposes. Mar 6, 2018
- Mar 9, 2018 California Supreme Court holds that dissolved law partnerships do not have a property interest in unfinished hourly fee cases, except for charges for activities necessary for winding up Mar 9, 2018
- Mar 12, 2018 Mailing a notice of intent to sue to a physician's address of record with the Medical Board satisfies pre-filing requirement under C.C.P. section 364 in medical-malpractice cases Mar 12, 2018
- Mar 13, 2018 Court of Appeal upholds cost-shifting under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 in a case involving a joint, unallocated offer by two sets of plaintiffs to settle two wrongful-death claims Mar 13, 2018
- Mar 23, 2018 Update: California Supreme Court grants review in Lawson v. Z.B., N.A. Mar 23, 2018
- Mar 29, 2018 Court of Appeal reverses $55M judgment in insurance-bad-faith case due to error including use of requests for admission at trial and mishandling of invocation of Fifth Amendment privilege Mar 29, 2018
April 2018
- Apr 2, 2018 Cal Supremes grant review in closely watched Kim v. Reins, which held that settling individual wage-hour claims results in destruction of standing to prosecute an enforcement action under the PAGA Apr 2, 2018
- Apr 18, 2018 Court of Appeal holds that a plaintiff may dismiss a case during trial and not suffer an adverse prevailing-party determination for purposes of contractual attorney's fees under Civil Code 1717 Apr 18, 2018
May 2018
- May 1, 2018 Dynamex: Cal. Supremes hold that all workers in California are presumptively employees and adopt a three-part "ABC" test that hirers must meet before establishing independent-contractor status May 1, 2018
- May 3, 2018 Court of Appeal holds that a party cannot be forced to stay in arbitration if it cannot pay for it unless the proponent of arbitration agrees to pay all the arbitration fees May 3, 2018
- May 9, 2018 Court of Appeal holds that injured plaintiffs have no duty to treat under insurance and, if they treat outside of insurance, the full amount charged may be sought as damages May 9, 2018
- May 22, 2018 Epic Systems: U.S. Supreme Court holds that employers may prohibit employees from bringing any form of class or collective action and may limit employees to one-on-one private arbitration of disputes May 22, 2018
June 2018
- Jun 25, 2018 Raines v. Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, Inc.: PAGA enforcement of wage-statement violations does not require proof of actual injury Jun 25, 2018
July 2018
- Jul 6, 2018 Court of Appeal orders trial court to grant trial continuance where parties' expert witness could not testify due to illness Jul 6, 2018
- Jul 10, 2018 Governor signs AB 2770, expanding the common-interest privilege to include communications that an employee would not be rehired because the employee engaged in sexual harassment Jul 10, 2018
- Jul 27, 2018 SB 766: foreign attorneys may represent parties in California mediations, arbitrations, and ADR proceedings related to international commercial disputes Jul 27, 2018
- Jul 27, 2018 Troester v. Starbucks Corp.: court rejects de minimis doctrine in case involving state-law wage-and-hour claims, leaves open the possibility of application in future cases, with caveats Jul 27, 2018
September 2018
- Sep 6, 2018 Employer's practice of mailing an employee's final paystub on the date of termination or the next day complied with Labor Code section 226 Sep 6, 2018
- Sep 11, 2018 Governor signs SB954, requiring attorneys to make specific disclosures to their clients before the client agrees to participate in mediation Sep 11, 2018
October 2018
- Oct 1, 2018 Governor signs SB 820, prohibiting confidentiality provisions that bar disclosure of factual information related to claims of sexual harassment, sex discrimination, or related retaliation Oct 1, 2018
- Oct 10, 2018 Kelly A. Knight joins top-flight ADR provider Judicate West Oct 10, 2018
November 2018
- Nov 14, 2018 PAGA plaintiffs may sue on behalf of all other employees who have suffered violations of the Labor Code even if the PAGA plaintiff did not suffer those violations Nov 14, 2018
- Nov 20, 2018 Court of Appeal: Dynamex ABC test limited to claims under the Wage Orders, otherwise Borello factors apply; worker must actually be engaged in independent business to be an independent contractor. Nov 20, 2018
- Nov 21, 2018 Second District Court of Appeal holds that 998 cost-shifting does not occur in FEHA actions unless the plaintiff’s case was frivolous, following Fourth District Court of Appeal. Nov 21, 2018
- Nov 29, 2018 Court of Appeal holds that finding of malice to support punitive damages requires an intent to cause injury, not actual injury; malice finding subject to substantial-evidence review Nov 29, 2018
February 2019
- Feb 5, 2019 Court of Appeal holds that "call-in shifts" or "on-call shifts" requiring employees to call in two hours before the shift trigger reporting-time pay Feb 5, 2019
- Feb 6, 2019 Court of Appeal affirms tax-neutralization award as a component of economic loss, including on future-lost-income amounts Feb 6, 2019
July 2019
- Jul 10, 2019 Kelly A. Knight to present at the Daily Journal's Annual Employment Law Forum Jul 10, 2019
- Jul 25, 2019 Dynamex upate: Ninth Circuit withdraws its opinion in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., and certifies question of Dynamex retroactivity to the California Supreme Court Jul 25, 2019
- Jul 25, 2019 Governor signs Senate Bill 188 (CROWN Act), implementing workplace protection for hairstyles, textures, and other traits historically associated with race Jul 25, 2019
August 2019
- Aug 31, 2019 Voris v. Lampert: Cal. Supremes hold that the tort of conversion does not apply to ordinary unpaid-wage cases Aug 31, 2019
September 2019
- Sep 25, 2019 California Governor signs Assembly Bill 5 into law, codifying the Dynamex ABC test for employment status for all Labor Code claims; bill includes clarifying language Sep 25, 2019
- Sep 25, 2019 California Supreme Court holds that an aggrieved PAGA employee may not recover unpaid wages in a Labor Code section 558 PAGA action, resolves appellate split Sep 25, 2019
March 2020
- Mar 13, 2020 New employment laws for 2020 Mar 13, 2020
- Mar 14, 2020 California Supreme Court holds that employees may bring and maintain PAGA claims even when they settle their individual claims or have no individual claims at all. Mar 14, 2020
August 2020
- Aug 10, 2020 Two recent cases limit punitive-damage ratios in employment actions, affirm managing-agent findings in important holdings Aug 10, 2020
October 2020
- Oct 1, 2020 Governor signs bill allowing for on-premises, on-duty rest periods for private security officers covered by collecting bargaining agreements, abrogating Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. Oct 1, 2020
- Oct 3, 2020 Governor signs bill adding remedy of attorney’s fees to Labor Code section 1102.5, California’s broad whistleblower-protection statute. Oct 3, 2020
June 2022
- Jun 15, 2022 Viking River Cruises is out: SCOTUS holds that the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of arbitration of PAGA claims in an "individual" capacity Jun 15, 2022