On February 10, 2007, the Honorable Patricia M. Lucas gave a talk in San Francisco, CA on the court system as it related to employment laws.
In most states, employment cases are heard in federal court. In California, because California laws are more employee friendly, if an attorney representing an employee, files a case in federal court, when the case could have been filed in state court, there could be a malpractice issue. This statement by Judge Lucas was confirmed by an employment law attorney later in the day.
How is California law more employee friendly? In federal court, the jury must be unanimous. In state court, the winner needs 9 out of 12 jurors. In federal court, there are statistics that a motion for summary judgment is easier to obtain for the defendant. The federal system has more resources for active case management where the judge moves cases forward.
The both the federal and state system, the employee who wants to sue an employer needs to exhaust administrative remedies first. If the employee does not exhaust administrative remedies, the defendant employer may have an affirmative defense in litigation. Administrative remedies give the government an opportunity to enforce the laws.
The DFEH and EEOC have complaint sharing agreements where if an employee reports a claim to one agency, the agency may share the information with the other.
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