This week I have two columns up elsewhere. At the Daily Journal, I wrote about the State of California's constitutionally questionable decision to prevent an artist from showing a Civil War painting at the Big Fresno Fair on the dubious grounds that it violated a...
Those of us of a certain age remember schools being unaware of bullying or indifferent to it. But for the last decade American schools have increasingly sought to prevent and punish various forms of bullying, motivated both by a concern for student well-being and effective...
Brown White & Osborn LLP’s lawyers regularly write about criminal justice and civil litigation issues for publications nationwide. Here are three recent examples: Confessions of an Ex-Prosecutor at Reason Magazine, discussing how culture shapes prosecutorial behavior. Brock Turner: The Sort of Defendant Who Is Spared “Severe Impact,” at the FaultLines Blog,...
When a client is accused of wrongdoing, the press often contacts attorneys for comments. Some attorneys choose the safe route and respond, “no comment,” which is not ideal for public relations. Other attorneys steer a middle course with measured words to the effect of “the...
California’s employee-friendly state legislature recently approved SB 358, the Fair Pay Act (“CFPA”), which is designed to reinforce the state’s existing equal pay laws and narrow exceptions that have historically made enforcement difficult. Governor Brown signed the bill into law, and the CFPA will be in...
The last 30 years has seen a significant decline in union membership by workers in the United States, with a resulting decrease in the political power of unions. But a recent legal shift toward empowering collective bargaining may point towards a recovery. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”)...
When Kim Davis, clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, got out of jail and went back to work, her first order of business was to announce publicly that while she’s not ordering her deputy clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, she “want[s] the...
Imagine it: you’ve been practicing law for more than 15 years. You’ve completed a successful stint in the District Attorney’s office where you compiled an impressive 87% success rate at trial. You went to a big, downtown firm where you won 10 of 13 jury...
A few weeks ago, Netflix announced its generous new paid parental leave policy, and Microsoft, Adobe Systems, Goldman Sachs, Nestlé and other industry leaders followed suit. Expanding paternity or maternity leave benefits attract employees with the promise of better work-life balance, and moves like this...
Worker classification — that is, categorizing workers as independent contractors or employees — has become a contentious issue affecting more and more companies in the burgeoning “1099 economy.” Uber is the leading example of a company that has based its business model on classifying its...