Yesenia M. Gallegos
Subscribe to Yesenia M. Gallegos's PostsYesenia M. Gallegos focuses her labor and employment practice on a wide range of matters, including restrictive covenants, wage and hour law, discrimination and harassment claims, executive employment agreements, leaves of absence, employee terminations and reductions in force. Yesenia represents employers in employment litigation—including class actions—pending in both state and federal court. She also represents employers in actions against former employees in trade-secret and embezzlement actions that require immediate restraining orders, injunctions and/or liens. Read Yesenia Gallegos' full bio.
California’s New Workplace Violence Prevention Mandate Takes Effect
By Maria C. Rodriguez, Yesenia M. Gallegos and Megan Lee on Jul 10, 2024
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment
California’s SB 553, which went into effect July 1, 2024, creates a new layer to California employers’ existing injury and illness prevention programs. Under SB 553, all California employers are now required to implement a workplace violence prevention plan (WVPP), provide training to employees regarding the WVPP and keep records of workplace violence incidents. As...
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California Imposes New Workplace Violence Prevention Mandate
By Michelle S. Strowhiro, Megan Lee, Maria C. Rodriguez and Yesenia M. Gallegos on Apr 2, 2024
Posted In Employment
On September 30, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, creating a new layer to California employers’ existing injury and illness prevention programs (IIPP). Under SB 553, employers are required to implement a workplace violence prevention plan (WVPP) no later than July 1, 2024, to provide training to employees regarding the WVPP...
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California Employee Civil Rights Defenses Following Estrada Case
By Saniya Ahmed, Pankit Doshi, Yesenia M. Gallegos and Maria C. Rodriguez on Mar 19, 2024
Posted In Employment
On January 18, 2024, in a highly anticipated and unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of California barred striking a claim under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) on trial manageability grounds alone, instead authorizing due process defenses to PAGA claims (Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc.). The decision also commented approvingly on representative testimonies, surveys...
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Washington State’s Pay Transparency Law Takes Effect January 1, 2023
By Yesenia M. Gallegos, Michelle S. Strowhiro and Paulina Chau on Dec 8, 2022
Posted In Executive Compensation, Payroll and Fringe Benefits
Effective January 1, 2023, Washington employers must comply with SB 5761, commonly known as Washington’s Pay Transparency Law, signed by Governor Jay Inslee on March 30, 2022. SB 5761 amends Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act (RCW 49.58) to require employers with 15 or more employees to include in each job posting the wage scale...
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California Supreme Court Clarifies Whether Missed-Break Premiums Are ‘Wages’ That Trigger Derivative Penalties
By Chris Braham, Yesenia M. Gallegos and Paulina Chau on Jun 29, 2022
Posted In Employment, Labor
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Sec. Servs. Inc. (Naranjo), holding that meal and rest break premiums (also known as extra pay or premium pay) constitute “wages” that: (1) must be accurately reported on employee wage statements pursuant to Labor Code section 226 and (2) must be...
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New Nationwide Ban Against Enforcement of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in Sexual Misconduct Cases
By Yesenia M. Gallegos on Feb 17, 2022
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment
On February 10, 2022, the US Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the Act), a bipartisan bill that invalidates and renders unenforceable predispute arbitration agreements in any case alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment. The US House of Representatives passed a version of the bill on...
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What’s Expected in Employment Law in 2021?
By Chris Braham, Yesenia M. Gallegos and Elvira Kras on Feb 3, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Privacy and Data Security
Last year ended as an unprecedented and historic year, with far-reaching effects across diversity, equity and inclusion, employment practices and workplace standards. In a recent article for International Law Office, partners from McDermott’s Employment group highlight what changes are expected in 2021 and how these may affect employers and employees. Access the article.
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Background Checks: The Advent of the New California Employment Class Action
By Yesenia M. Gallegos, Maria C. Rodriguez, Chris Braham and Marjorie C. Soto Garcia on Nov 6, 2020
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security
Class action litigation brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is on the rise—particularly in California—after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2017 decision applying a hypertechnical approach to the FCRA’s disclosure requirements. Background checks are an integral part of the hiring process, but they open employers up to...
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Background Checks: The Advent of the New California Employment Class Action
By Chris Braham, Yesenia M. Gallegos, Maria C. Rodriguez and Marjorie C. Soto Garcia on Jul 28, 2020
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security
Class action litigation brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is on the rise—particularly in California—after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2017 decision applying a hypertechnical approach to the FCRA’s disclosure requirements. Background checks are an integral part of the hiring process, but they open employers up to...
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Global Employment Contracts: The Modern Tower of Babel
By Ludovic Bergès and Yesenia M. Gallegos on Oct 3, 2019
Posted In Employment
Although multi-jurisdictional compliance is a challenge in relation to every aspect of employment law, the structure of employment contracts and the enforcement of global policies require particularly careful consideration. The need to coordinate individual country compliance across numerous countries whilst still maintaining a common company culture requires extensive knowledge of national laws and considerable flexibility.
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