California’s revamped Automatic Renewal Law (often called “CARL”, CA Business & Profession Code section 17600) takes effect July 1, 2025, bringing large changes to consumer protections for subscriptions, trials, and recurring payments.

CARL is California’s consumer law regulating automatic renewals and continuous service agreements, now expanded to include free trials that roll into paid subscriptions.

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP has been appointed, along with DiCello Levitt LLP, as Interim Class Counsel to co-lead all putative class actions in California Superior Court in Los Angeles related to the Eaton Fire.  The Eaton Fire burned in Altadena, Los Angeles, in January 2025.  According to state authorities, the fire caused 17 deaths, 9 injuries, burned over 14,000 acres, and destroyed 9,000 structures.  Roughly 100,000 people were evacuated.  Plaintiffs allege that defendants Southern California Edison Company and Edison International failed to adequately maintain their power lines and electrical equipment, causing the Eaton Fire.  With the Court’s appointment, Schneider Wallace and DiCello Levitt are responsible for the orderly prosecution of all putative class actions seeking redress for damages arising from the Eaton Fire.  

In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) achieved its first successful criminal conviction for wage-fixing. A home healthcare executive was found guilty of conspiring to place a cap on wages for nurses in Las Vegas, between 2016 and 2019. A wage-fixing agreement, along with no-poach agreements and illegal variations of non-compete agreements, are types of illegal restraint on worker income and movement.

The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA), originally passed in 1938 and frequently updated since, defines a tipped employee as one who earns $30 a month or more in tips. For workers without state, county or city laws restricting the practice, workers under FLSA can receive a reduction in hourly pay that is covered by tips received.  Improper use of tip credit for employees is a common wage and hour dispute, and lawsuits are common when employers improperly use tip credits to reduce wages.  Here, we explore the latest rules from the Department of Labor, and common errors employers make when attempting to reduce employee owed wages with these credits.  FLSA Tip Credit  FLSA establishes the rules for how employers may use a tip credit to meet the federal minimum wage requirement. The tip credit provision allows employers of tipped employees to count part of their employees’ tips toward satisfying their minimum wage obligation. Employers can claim a credit as long as the employee’s tips make up the difference to meet the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.   Under this rule, employers may pay tipped employees a base wage of $2.13 per hour and claim a tip credit of up to $5.12 per hour to cover the remainder of the minimum wage requirement. If an employee’s total earnings (tips + hourly wage) do not meet the federal minimum wage, the employer is legally obligated to compensate for the shortfall. Employees cannot earn below the minimum wage, for all time work.  […]

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP is pleased to announce the opening of its Washington, D.C. office.  Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim is a nationwide plaintiffs’ law firm founded in 1993, with offices in Northern California, Southern California, Texas, and Puerto Rico.  The firm represents both individuals and institutional clients such as health insurers and municipalities in complex civil litigation.  Schneider Wallace handles cases throughout the country, with a nationwide reach.  The firm’s Washington, D.C. office will further support our clients and cases in the nation’s capital and on the East Coast. 

April 21, 2025 — A California jury has awarded $2.36 million to a class of consumers in a false advertising lawsuit against Bigelow Tea, finding that the company misled buyers by labeling its products “Manufactured in the USA 100%” despite using imported ingredients and packaging.

ATTENTION: If you are a person with a mobility disability who uses a wheelchair, scooter, or other aid for mobility, and you use or would like to use the parks and recreation facilities operated by the City of Los Angeles, please read the following about a class action lawsuit that may affect your rights.

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP, a national plaintiff side law firm, is pleased to announce the February 2025 promotion of two new additional partners. Esther Lee Bylsma and J. Caleigh MacDonald join a growing partner tier at the firm.

As of January 1st 2025 twenty one states welcomed new minimum wages for (most) workers.  While the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, most workers in the United States fall under additional minimum wages supplied by their state, county or city. 

The April 2024 federal non-compete rule from the FTC aimed to ban nearly all new non-compete agreements and invalidate most existing ones. Exceptions were limited to specific high-level employees with access to sensitive information. However, courts in Texas and Florida have since issued injunctions halting enforcement of the ban.

Despite the federal ban being on hold, a majority of the U.S. workforce is employed in states that impose varying restrictions on non-compete agreements.