Tony DeCristoforo

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Tony DeCristoforo is an employment litigator who focuses his practice on the representation of employers and supervisors in disputes in state and federal courts, as well as administrative proceedings and arbitrations. Tony has extensive experience handling wage and hour class actions and claims for discrimination, wrongful termination and sexual harassment. He also advises employers on a wide range of employment-related issues, including wage and hour law, employment agreements, employee handbooks and statutory leave rights.

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California Employers Must Carefully Reconsider Whether Employees Can Be Provided With “Suitable Seats” In Light of New Decision

By Tony DeCristoforo and Michael Menssen on Posted in California
A recent California Supreme Court decision has the potential to affect all California employees who are required to stand while performing parts of their job.  In response to numerous lawsuits brought by cashiers, retail employees, bank tellers and other employees, the California Supreme Court clarified the meaning of a decades-old law that requires employers to … Continue Reading

New California Employment Laws for 2016

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
Now that the calendar has turned to 2016, this is a good time for employers in California to ensure that they are up to speed on the new laws that took effect on January 1.  Here are some of the highlights. SB 358 (Gender Wage Differential) Existing law already prohibits employers from paying women less … Continue Reading

San Francisco Is About to Begin Enforcing the Retail Workers Bill of Rights – Are You in Compliance?

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Updates
On July 3, 2015, the San Francisco Retail Workers Bill of Rights becomes operative. This ordinance creates major changes for many companies doing business in San Francisco. Employers Affected The law applies to “formula retail” businesses with (a) 20 or more locations worldwide, and (b) 20 or more employees in San Francisco, as well as … Continue Reading

A Not-So Happy New Year for California Employers: 2014 Legislative Update

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Immigration
It has become an annual New Year’s tradition in California — employers getting up to speed on a host of new employment laws that will affect them in the coming year. The California Legislature was busy in 2013 imposing new burdens on employers for 2014 and beyond. We previously blogged about an increase in the state minimum … Continue Reading

California: New Requirements For Commission Agreements To Take Effect

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
Companies with employees in California who are paid on commission should be aware of a new law requiring commission agreements to be in writing.  As we’ve blogged about previously, California AB 1396 was enacted last year with a deferred effective date of January 1, 2013.  That deadline is now coming up quickly, and affected employers should … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court Clarifies Meal and Rest Break Requirements Under State Law

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Cases, Labor
In its long-anticipated decision in Brinker v. Superior Court, a unanimous California Supreme Court has clarified the scope of an employer’s obligation to provide meal and rest breaks to non-exempt employees in California.  The Court’s full opinion is available here. Meal Breaks California law requires employers to provide employees with a meal period of not less than … Continue Reading

Seasons’ Greetings From The California Legislature–New Laws That Apply To Employers In January 2012

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Labor
The California legislature has done plenty this year to leave in employers’ stockings for the holidays–new employment laws that will become effective January 1, 2012.  In addition to the new California Transparency in Supply Chains Act we blogged about earlier, after some eggnog and holiday cheer, employers will need to be aware of new legal … Continue Reading

It’s Time to Ensure Compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
Under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, beginning January 1, 2012, large retailers and manufacturers that do business in California must disclose information on their websites about what they do to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains. The new law applies to companies with worldwide gross receipts of over $100 million. The … Continue Reading

The EEOC Reiterates the Importance of the Interactive Process

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in ADA, EEOC, Gov't Agencies, Labor, Practical Tips
A recent decision from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reminds employers of their affirmative duty to engage in an interactive process once an employee raises a medical condition and requests some change to their work environment to accommodate it. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act at issue in Harden v. Social … Continue Reading

Why Should Employers be Fair?

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in Alaska, Cases
Martha walks into your office and says she wants to fire her assistant, Roy, because he keeps sending emails with typos and it is embarrassing. Martha says, “We are at-will and I want him gone by the end of the day.”  Like most others, Alaska is an “employment-at-will” state, which means that the employee and employer … Continue Reading

California: “Suitable Seating” Class Actions on the Rise

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
California employers need to be mindful of a new kind of wage-hour class action – class claims arising from the “suitable seating” requirements of the California Industrial Welfare Commission’s wage orders.  The wage orders set forth what employers must do with respect to employees’ wages, hours and working conditions. There are 17 wage orders, applying to … Continue Reading

California Overtime Rules Apply To Work Performed In California By Out-Of-State Employees

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Labor
The California Supreme Court has ruled that California’s daily overtime requirements apply to work performed in California by non-residents.  In Sullivan v. Oracle Corp., three employees of Oracle who were not residents of California worked as “instructors” and trained Oracle’s customers in the use of the company’s products.  Required by Oracle to travel, the plaintiffs … Continue Reading

Lawmakers Aim to Take the “Spice” out of Synthetic Drug Use.

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in Alaska, Practical Tips
Meghan M. Kelly also contributed to this post. Alaska has joined the growing list of states that have outlawed the sale or possession of “synthetic cannabinoids.” These so-called designer drugs are sold under trade names like “Spice” and “K2”, and are essentially chemicals sprayed on dried weeds then rolled and smoked like marijuana.  Alaska’s new law, … Continue Reading

Why Employers Should Exercise Restraint and Objectivity

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in Cases, EEOC, Practical Tips, Title VII
Retaliation claims are increasing at an alarming pace. Not only have these claims tripled in number within the last two decades, they now exceed race discrimination as the leading claim filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Click here to see EEOC statistics. Why the startling trend? First, Congress has gone to great lengths to protect … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Holds Shareholder Hire Preference Not Facially Discriminatory

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in Alaska, Cases, Title VII
Meghan M. Kelly also contributed to this post. In an unpublished opinion in Conitz v. Teck Alaska Inc. the Ninth Circuit held that an Alaska Native corporation’s shareholder employment preference was not facially discriminatory because it was based on shareholder status, not racial status.   Teck employee Gregg Conitz works at the Red Dog Mine, … Continue Reading

Alaska: 2011 Legislative Session Preview

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in Alaska, News, Updates
  The 27th Session of the Alaska Legislature convened in January, and several labor and employment-related bills were introduced. We’ve highlighted some of the more interesting bills below.   Hot Topics: “Alaska’s Oil, Alaska’s Jobs” — HB 82 and SB 71 propose to authorize a rebate of the production tax on oil and gas, based … Continue Reading

California: Employee’s E-Mails With Lawyer Are Not Privileged When Sent Via Company Computer

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
A clear and comprehensive computer policy is an essential component of any employee handbook. Last week, a California appellate court ruled that when such a policy is in place, an employee who uses the company computer to e-mail her attorney about perceived harassment and discrimination in the workplace waives the attorney-client privilege. In Holmes v. Petrovich … Continue Reading

California DLSE Reverses Itself Regarding Schedule and Salary Reductions for Exempt Employees

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California, Labor
The California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued an opinion letter in which it concludes that California law does not prohibit an employer from temporarily reducing the work schedule of an exempt employee from five days a week to four days a week, and correspondingly reducing the employee’s salary by 20 percent.  The … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court: No Privacy Violation for Employer’s Placement of Video Camera in Employees’ Office

By Tony DeCristoforo on Posted in California
The California Supreme Court has issued its decision in Hernandez v. Hillsides, Inc., finding that an employer’s placement of a hidden camera in an office used by two employees did not violate the employees’ right to privacy.  This case has been closely watched (OK, pun intended) as it worked its way through the appellate courts.  Like all workplace privacy … Continue Reading
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