News and Events

Recent Victories

June 2, 2008, COURT AFFIRMS FREE SPEECH RIGHTS OF CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE ORGANIZER Rules Against Falun Gong Again, Orders It To Pay Chamber’s Fees

The actual text of the court’s decision can be found online at: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A115535.PDF

Victory Against the Alcohol Industry

On August 14, 2007, Public Law Group attorneys working with a broad coalition of public entities, public interest groups, and law enforcement agencies throughout California convinced California’s State Board of Equalization to properly tax alcopops – sweet, carbonated alcoholic beverages popular among teenage girls – as distilled spirits.

Sacramento, California, August 14, 2007

In a 3-2 decision led by California State Controller John Chiang, the State Board of Equalization today voted to adopt a regulatory scheme that classifies distilled-spirit laced alcopops – self-servingly referred to as “flavored malt beverages” by the industry – as distilled spirits, making these products more expensive, and consequently less appealing to minors. In a prepared statement, Chiang said that "Flavored malt beverages should be taxed as distilled spirits because they fall under the category of distilled spirits, as written in California law.” Chiang added that “While today's vote is about fair taxation, taxing flavored malt beverages as liquor will also help reduce their popularity with young people by simply pricing the product out of their reach."

Today’s decision is the first step towards correcting the Board’s decade-long misclassification of alcopops. Under California law, any alcoholic beverage containing distilled spirits is a distilled spirit for all purposes, and must be taxed as such. Although the Board itself reached this conclusion in 1997, and was directed to classify and tax alcopops as distilled spirits by the California Attorney General in 2005, the Board has historically chosen to accept manufacturers’ representation that their products are “beer.” The Public Law Group filed a lawsuit against the Board on behalf of the County of Santa Clara and an individual taxpayer in November 2006 seeking to compel the Board to correct this misclassification, and is proud to have contributed to this change.

The other members supporting the decision to change the Board’s regulatory scheme were Betty Yee and Judy Chu.

For further information regarding this matter, please contact Scott Dickey, Jonathan Holtzman, or call 415-678-3800.

RSHS attorneys Randy Riddle and Steve Cikes recently achieved an important victory for the First Amendment right of nonprofit organizations to protect the content and integrity of their protected speech. The Falun Gong, a self-cultivation group that originated in China, recently brought an action in San Francisco Superior Court challenging the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's decision to exclude the group from participating in the Chamber-produced San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, which is dedicated to celebrating the Chinese New Year holiday as well as the Chinese history and culture. RSHS, on behalf of the Chamber, filed an "anti-SLAPP" motion seeking to dismiss the claim against the Chamber on the ground that the lawsuit operated to chill the Chamber's First Amendment rights. The court not only granted the motion but also awarded the Chamber attorneys' fees and costs.

RSHS attorneys Charles Sakai and Randy Riddle recently won a significant victory for the City of Richmond, clarifying the City's prerogative to set firefighter staffing levels under the Meyers Milias Brown Act. Citing Vallejo, the City’s firefighter union argued that the City was required to negotiate both the decision and the effects of a the decision to reduce firefighter staffing levels. Before PERB, we successfully argued that the decision to reduce firefighter staffing levels and lay off firefighters is a management prerogative, and we successfully defended that decision in both the Court of Appeal and trial court.

Honors

Steve Shaw was appointed to the New Lawyers Division Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice (AAJ, formerly ATLA).

On March 30, 2007 the Marin Institute will honor Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, the Public Law Group, for its work in combating the illegal sale of alcohol to minors in California. For the past two years, the Public Law Group has brought pro bono litigation against the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the State Board of Equalization challenging their treatment of “alcopops,” – sweet, distilled-spirit laden beverages – as beer. The improper classification, regulation, and taxation of these alcoholic beverages makes them easier to find and easier to purchase by their target market – young teens who do not like the taste of beer or liquor. The Public Law Group is committed to ending these state agencies’ refusal to perform their duties under California’s alcoholic beverage control laws.

Emily Prescott has been appointed to a four-year term on the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section. Congratulations Emily!

News

Friday, March 3, 2007 SF Chron Oakland's new police contract is first step

Good News: AB 553 Vetoed
If enacted, AB 553 would have denied cities and counties the ability to seek injunctions directly with the courts when faced with strikes affecting health and safety. Fortunately, the bill was vetoed. For Governor Schwarzenegger's full message take a look at http://caperb.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Sept 27, 2007

Showdown looms in RSHS lawsuit against alcopops "WHEN BEER IS NOT BEER", The San Francisco Chronicle, May 15, 2007

"SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES HOLD PROTEST OVER CONTRACT"
Lodi News Sentinel
November 24, 2006

"UNION BATTLE GROWS COSTLY"
Vallejo Times Herald
February 1, 2006

"FLAVORED MALT DRINKS UNDER FIRE"
The Sacramento Bee
January 18, 2006

"STATE SUED OVER ALCOPOPS"
San Jose Mercury News
January 18, 2006

"GROUPS SUE STATE OVER BOOZE FOR KIDS'"
The Daily Ukiah Journal
January 17, 2006

"SANTA CLARA TAKES CUE FROM SPITZER"
The Recorder
September 22, 2005

Events

June 20, 2008 - Charles Sakai will be speaking at the 2008 Labor Arbitration Advocacy Conference in Oakland, California.

Tim Yeung will be teaching the course, “Strategic Tips for Successfully Propounding & Opposing Motions to Compel and Other Discovery Motions,” sponsored by the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) on July 27, 2007, in Sacramento, California.

Tim Yeung will join a panel presentation on administrative appellate practice at Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) annual conference on September 20, 2007, in Irvine, California.

Join Tim Yeung at the State Bar Annual Conference on September 28, 2007, in Anaheim, California where he will be speaking on the topic “Love, Drugs, and Cigarettes - Employee Privacy Rights.”

 

 

 

Articles

August 8, 2008, When Firmly Held Religious Beliefs Conflict With the Right to Wedded Bliss Emily Prescott Esq., Allyson Hauck Esq., and Danna Barton Esq.

Emily Prescott and Genevieve Ng, How Those Jerks at Work Create Liability Problems for Employers, California Labor & Employment Law Review, May 2008

Randy Riddle and Erich Shiners, Navigating the Murky Waters of Employee Notice Requirements Under the Brown Act's Personnel Exception, Reprinted with permission from CPER No. 187 (December  2007). Copyright by the Regents, University of California. The California Public Employee Relations Program (CPER) provides nonpartisan information to those involved in employer-employee relations in the public sector. For more information, visit http://cper.berkeley.edu/

Tim Yeung and Erich Shiners, AB 553 (Hernandez) Public Employment Relations Board, The Journal, March/April 2007

Nikki Hall, Avoiding a Workplace 'Rashomon', The Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2005

Jonathan Holtzman and Jeffrey Sloan, Lets Make A Deal, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, June 1, 2005

Jonathan Holtzman and Gabriel Metcalf, The Progressive Agenda on Good Government, San Francisco Examiner, April 4, 2005

Charles Sakai and Justin Otto Sceva, Modifying Post Retirement Health Benefits of Current Public Sector Employees, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, June 2004

Jonathan Holtzman, How to Manage Public Employees, San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2004