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California Law Firm News ::
Harris & Kaufman California Labor Lawyers - Cases Won
William
E. Harris on KNBC Channel 4 News, Los
Angeles
Harris
& Kaufman lawsuit on behalf of Skechers staff.
Click
to view News Video
Circuit
City's Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable
In a major
victory for California employees of the national retailer of
electronics, a Court of Appeal ruled that Circuit City's
arbitration agreement could not be enforced. Harris &
Kaufman represents the plaintiff against Circuit City in an
overtime pay class action. In September 2004, the court
found that the terms of Circuit City's arbitration agreement
were so one-side that it "shocked the conscience". Among the
things, Circuit City's arbitration agreement bound only the
employee to arbitration, required the employee to pay fees
to Circuit City just for initiating the arbitration (Circuit
City pays no such fees), imposes a shortened statute of
limitation on the employee (and not on Circuit City), and
prohibits class actions. The court concluded that the
"central purpose of the agreement" was "tainted with
illegality". This ruling represents a major defeat for
Circuit City. Click
Here
to read the entire text.
Harris
& Kaufman Prevail at Trial, Prove that U-Haul General
Managers Entitled To Overtime Pay Under State
Law
In a case with major
statewide implications, Harris & Kaufman successfully
represented the plaintiffs in a class action for overtime
pay against U-Haul International, Inc. In Crandall v.s.
U-Haul International, Inc., Harris & Kaufman, with
William E. Harris & Matthew A. Kaufman acting as lead
attorneys, represented 480 current and former employees,
entitled "General Managers," of U-Haul rental outlets. At
trial, the employees argued that the Phoenix-based company
wrongly classified them as exempt from overtime requirements
of California law. The plaintiffs claimed that they spent
most of their work time engaged in sales and the same work
as the other non-management employees at the stores. The
court agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that the evidence
did not show that the employees spent over 50% of their time
engaged in management work as required by state law.
U-Haul threw everything but the kitchen sink at the
plaintiffs. U-Haul spent millions of dollars in its defense
by hiring four law firms, an uncountable number of lawyers,
and many high-priced expert witnesses. Adding to U-Haul's
resources, the California Employment Law Counsel, an
organization financed by big business, also appeared as a
party in the case and lobbied the court of appeal and
supreme court to intercede. Despite the financial mismatch,
Harris & Kaufman proved their determination and that the
employees were non-exempt by persuading the trial judge to
disregard U-Haul's arguments and rule on behalf of the
employees.
This is the first class action to go to trial on the issue
of whether managers spent over half their work time engaged
in exempt work under California law. The case, which was the
subject of articles in Business Week, CFO Magazine, The Los
Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Daily Journal, was closely
followed by the employer's bar and lobby. The result
implicates the common practice throughout the state of
classifying as "exempt" employees who work on the sales
floors and production lines.
California
Labor Lawyers Harris & Kaufman Can Help
Harris & Kaufman is a
California law firm that's dedicated to representing
employees in disputes against their employers to do with
arbitration in California. Our California
labor lawyers also
represent employees and workers in wage disputes,
overtime
pay,
vacation
pay, unlawful
termination, rest and meal period cases, sexual harassment,
workplace discrimination, and cases regarding tips and tip
pooling. Our lawyers can assist you if you believe that your
employer has broken the California Labor Laws.
Our employment attorneys are experienced and have had
numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals and have
litigated on behalf of thousands of employees.
Harris & Kaufman has represented workers in state and
federal court and in administrative proceedings before the
California Labor Commissioner. Determined and aggressive,
our cases include individual disputes and
class
action lawsuits.
We can assist you with a wide variety of workplace disputes
to do with the California pay laws. We are aggressive and
experienced lawyers and can help enforce your rights under
California state law or state regulations. Based in Sherman
Oaks, California we serve greater Los Angeles, Orange
County, Ventura County and have cases statewide.
To
email William E. Harris about a claim you may have
Click
Here
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