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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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