On April 26, 2023, Lauren Teukolsky will discuss hot topics in employment settlement agreements for a program put on by the Southern California Labor and Employment Relations Association (SoCal LERA). Ms. Teukolsky will be joined by fellow panelists Jonathan Judge, a partner at Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, and Jade M. Brewster, an associate at Jackson Lewis. The panel will be moderated by Angela J. Reddock-Wright, a mediator at Signature Resolution.

The webinar’s focus will be confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in settlements and separation agreements, a subject that has taken on increased complexity in light of the recent McLaren Macomb decision from the National Labor Relations Board.

Ms. Teukolsky’s commentary on the decision was recently featured in an article by Law360. Ms. Teukolsky has also written about employment settlement agreements for Advocate Magazine.

SoCal LERA is a regional chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association, an organization where Human Resources professions and attorneys from both sides of the aisle share ideas and learn about new developments and practices in the field.
​
To sign up for the webinar, click here. To learn more about Ms. Teukolsky and her practice, click here. If you’re an employee and believe you’re being treated unlawfully, click here to get in touch with our office.

Lauren Teukolsky’s work was published in the April 2022 issue of Advocate, the largest magazine in the United States for plaintiff’s trial attorneys. In Ms. Teukolsky’s article, she writes about settlement agreements in employment cases, and more specifically, best practices for plaintiffs’ attorneys to follow when working to secure the best settlement agreements for their clients, including:

• Negotiate any important non-monetary terms before agreeing to a dollar amount
• Discuss allocating the settlement payment for tax purposes with your client in advance
• Limit your client’s agreement to indemnify the defendant for tax consequences
• Make the release of claims mutual
• Understand the new California laws on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and non-disparagement provisions
• Talk to the client about taking NDAs in discrimination and harassment cases off the table by filing an administrative charge
• Ask for a neutral reference provision
• Do not agree to unlawful restraints on trade or non-competes
• Limit liquidated damages provisions
• Include provisions to protect your client when agreeing to a structured settlement
• Be sure that your request for the court to retain jurisdiction is enforceable

Ms. Teukolsky’s article discusses each of these recommendations in detail.  Negotiating the best settlement agreement for a client can be an incredibly complex matter, but Ms. Teukolsky is highly skilled at securing the most favorable settlement agreements possible for her clients.  In addition to her writing for Advocate, Ms. Teukolsky has spoken about settlement issues at legal conferences and received the 2016 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award for her work on Carrillo v. Schneider, a wage-and-hour class action against Walmart and others on behalf of warehouse workers in the Inland Empire, which settled for $22.7 million.

If you believe you have been subjected to illegal workplace practices and would like to consult with Ms. Teukolsky, use this page to get in touch.  

In recent years, California lawmakers have taken on sexual harassment and assault with a series of changes to state law.  In the wake of revelations about how institutions and companies keep sexual misconduct and abuse under wraps—from the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal to Harvey Weinstein—the California legislature has largely taken confidentiality agreements surrounding sexual misconduct off the negotiating table.  The legal developments aim to shed light on sexual harassment and violence by preserving the ability of victims to speak about their experiences, despite a settlement.  Here is what you need to know: 

1) California law prohibits confidentiality in settlement agreements in civil cases where the underlying conduct could be criminally charged as a felony sex offense.  The prohibition applies not only to cases related to workplace sexual assault, but to all civil cases.  Sexual conduct that could prosecuted as a felony includes (among other acts): rape, and sexual assault where the perpetrator used violence, restrained the victim, or fraudulently deceived the victim into believing the touching was for a professional purpose.  
Where the conduct you allege rises to the level of felony sexual assault, your attorney could be subject to professional discipline by the California State Bar for demanding confidentiality or advising you to agree to confidentiality in a settlement agreement.  

2) California law limits provisions in settlement agreements that prevent disclosure of allegations related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, sex-based discrimination, and retaliation.  If you have filed a complaint in court or with an administrative agency (such as California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing), the company cannot require you, as a condition of settling your claims, to stay silent about the facts described in your complaint.  

An exception may be made where the survivor of sexual harassment wishes to maintain the confidentiality of their identity.  At the survivor’s request, the settlement agreement can shield the survivor’s identity and facts that could lead to discovery of her identity. It is also permissible for settlement agreements to require the parties’ confidentiality about the dollar figure of the settlement.  

If you have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment or sexual assault in the workplace, contact us today for a free consultation.