Law and the Workplace
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Tony Oncidi

Partner

Anthony J. Oncidi is the co-chair of the Labor & Employment Law Department and heads the West Coast Labor & Employment group in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Tony represents employers and management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law, including litigation and preventive counseling, wage and hour matters, including class actions, wrongful termination, employee discipline, Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, executive employment contract disputes, sexual harassment training and investigations, workplace violence, drug testing and privacy issues, Sarbanes-Oxley claims and employee raiding and trade secret protection. A substantial portion of Tony’s practice involves the defense of employers in large class actions, employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination litigation in state and federal court as well as arbitration proceedings, including FINRA matters.

Tony is recognized as a leading lawyer by such highly respected publications and organizations as the Los Angeles Daily JournalThe Hollywood Reporter, and Chambers USA, which gives him the highest possible rating (“Band 1”) for Labor & Employment.  According to Chambers USA, clients say Tony is "brilliant at what he does… He is even keeled, has a high emotional IQ, is a great legal writer and orator, and never gives up." Other clients report:  “Tony has an outstanding reputation” and he is “smart, cost effective and appropriately aggressive.” Tony is hailed as "outstanding,” particularly for his “ability to merge top-shelf lawyerly advice with pragmatic business acumen.” He is highly respected in the industry, with other commentators lauding him as a "phenomenal strategist" and "one of the top employment litigators in the country."

“Tony is the author of the treatise titled Employment Discrimination Depositions (Juris Pub’g 2020; www.jurispub.com), co-author of Proskauer on Privacy (PLI 2020), and, since 1990, has been a regular columnist for the official publication of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Tony has been a featured guest on Fox 11 News and CBS News in Los Angeles. He has been interviewed and quoted by leading national media outlets such as The National Law JournalBloomberg News, The New York Times, and Newsweek and Time magazines. Tony is a frequent speaker on employment law topics for large and small groups of employers and their counsel, including the Society for Human Resource Management ("SHRM"), PIHRA, the National CLE Conference, National Business Institute, the Employment Round Table of Southern California (Board Member), the Council on Education in Management, the Institute for Corporate Counsel, the State Bar of California, the California Continuing Education of the Bar Program and the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Bar Associations. He has testified as an expert witness regarding wage and hour issues as well as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and has served as a faculty member of the National Employment Law Institute. He has served as an arbitrator in an employment discrimination matter.

Tony is an appointed Hearing Examiner for the Los Angeles Police Commission Board of Rights and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law and a guest lecturer at USC Law School and a guest lecturer at UCLA Law School.

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Race Discrimination Claims by Broadway Actor Sent Back to the Underworld in the Face of Producer’s First Amendment Rights

A federal court in New York has held that a Broadway musical’s casting decisions—specifically replacing one actor with another actor of a different race—are shielded by the First Amendment from employment discrimination claims, in a decision that could have implications across the entertainment industry. In Moore v. Hadestown Broadway LLC, the plaintiff, a Black woman, brought … Continue Reading

EEOC Releases New Employer Guidance On Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

As we covered here, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is effective today! As a reminder, the PWFA extends the requirements of the ADA to employees with known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The EEOC stated that they will begin accepting charges of discrimination for incidents … Continue Reading

Employers Face New Accommodation Requirements For Nursing Mothers

In our recent blog post, we highlighted legislation that will impact employers this year related to nursing and pregnant employees: the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the “PUMP Act”) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”).  As this legislation becomes effective—with the PUMP Act taking effect on April 28, 2023 and the … Continue Reading

U.S. House Passes Bill that Places Future of Arbitration Agreements at Risk

It’s only been two weeks since President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the “Ending Forced Arbitration Act”) into law (which we covered here), and there is already a new major development in the world of arbitration. Yesterday, the U.S. House passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice … Continue Reading

UPDATED: President Biden Signs Bill Prohibiting Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waivers for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Claims

***UPDATE: President Biden signed the bill into law on March 3, 2022.  The law takes effect immediately.*** Today, the Senate passed H. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the “Act”), by a voice vote.  The bill had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 335-97. The … Continue Reading

Significant Workplace Changes in Store Under the Biden Administration

From pay equity to an increased minimum wage, pro-worker and pro-union labor policies, and additional anti-discrimination protections, President-elect Biden has touted support for numerous legislative and regulatory proposals that would significantly change the employment and labor law landscape.  Bolstered by Democrat victories in the Georgia Senate runoff elections (and the resulting unified Congress, the first … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: California’s Legislative Response to the #MeToo Movement

In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Tony Oncidi and Kate Gold discuss California’s most recent legislative response to the #MeToo movement.  These developments include new restrictions on confidentiality and arbitration as well as the extension of the statute of limitations applicable to harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims.  So be sure to tune in as Tony and Kate … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court Hands Employers A Rare Victory, Trims Bloated PAGA Claims

Last week, the California Supreme Court held that private litigants may not recover unpaid wages under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”).  See ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court (Lawson) (Cal. S. Ct. Sept. 12, 2019). In a rearguard effort to fight employment arbitration agreements, which usually include class action waivers, plaintiffs’ lawyers have been routinely filing … Continue Reading

California Enacts Law Prohibiting Hairstyle Discrimination … with New York and New Jersey Close Behind

UPDATE: Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York bill into law on July 12, 2019 (effective immediately). As we have reported before, California is set to become the first state to prohibit employers from discriminating based upon hairstyle. Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the “CROWN Act” (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: Recent Developments in California Law

In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partner Tony Oncidi and senior counsel Harris Mufson discuss key developments in California employment law, including a new test to determine whether workers are independent contractors or employees and what’s new on the #MeToo front. Listen to the podcast.  … Continue Reading

California Enacts Statewide Law Restricting Inquiries into Applicants’ Salary History

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a statewide salary history inquiry law that will largely restrict employers in the state from seeking and relying upon salary history information from applicants during the hiring process. The law, which will go into effect on January 1, 2018 and will apply to all private and public … Continue Reading

What’s Next for Traditional Labor with President-Elect Trump in Office?

President-elect Trump’s strong base with blue collar workers helped him win yesterday’s election, despite significant union backing for Hillary Clinton during the campaign. Trump has not, however, revealed details on how he plans to address issues of interest to the unionized workforce beyond backing out of international trade treaties, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and enticing … Continue Reading

Wage and Hour Implications with President-Elect Trump

Aside from proposing potential carve-outs for small businesses under the new overtime rules that go into effect on December 1, 2016 and supporting six weeks of paid maternity leave, President-elect Trump has not discussed in significant detail how, if at all, he plans to address issues involving workers’ rights.  However, it is possible to predict … Continue Reading

Louisiana Has Joined 16 Other States and Prohibits Employers from Accessing Employee Online Accounts

On August 1, 2014, Louisiana’s “Personal Online Account Protection Act,” codified as La. Rev. Stat. §§ 28:1951-1955, went into effect.  Louisiana has joined sixteen other states that have enacted laws prohibiting or restricting employers from accessing employees’ personal online accounts – including social media (Twitter, Facebook or similar sites), email accounts, or any other online … Continue Reading

Employers Should Now Run – Not Walk – Toward Adopting Arbitration Agreements in California

Today, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, Case No. S204032, upholding class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements.  This means that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion is to be given full force and effect in the employment setting … Continue Reading

San Francisco Releases “Ban the Box” Notice for Posting and Distribution

San Francisco’s new Fair Chance Ordinance (“FCO”) “bans the box” and otherwise restricts private employers and City contractors from inquiring into or considering certain criminal offenses when making hiring and personnel decisions. One of the requirements of the FCO is for employers and contractors to post and distribute a written notice of rights, which San … Continue Reading

Raising Wages by Tightening the White-Collar Overtime Exemptions–The President’s Initiative

Last week, President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor to revise and modernize the “white- collar” overtime exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act to extend overtime benefits to a broader range of workers. This alert summarizes the President’s Memorandum, outlines what employers might expect in the coming months, and reminds employers to remain proactive … Continue Reading

San Francisco “Bans the Box” for Private Employers and City Contractors

San Francisco recently became the ninth jurisdiction to enact a “ban the box” ordinance prohibiting private employers and city contractors and subcontractors from asking job applicants about their criminal histories until after the first interview. The new ordinance further restricts the types of criminal offenses about which employers and contractors may inquire or otherwise may … Continue Reading

California Further Restricts Employer Use of Prior Convictions in Hiring Decisions

On October 10, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown approved S.B. 530 to further limit public and private employers from inquiring into or otherwise considering certain types of criminal convictions. This alert examines the new law, which takes effect January 1, 2014. Read the full text of this alert.  … Continue Reading
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