Public Sector Employment Litigation (The Rutter Group California Practice Guide)

The Rutter Group's California Practice Guide: Public Sector Employment Litigation is the definitive guide to lawsuits involving public employees and public agencies. It is an essential companion to TRG's California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation.

While public agencies and private employers are equally subject to antidiscrimination laws and to statutory enactments such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, public agencies have many protections not enjoyed by private companies. These include special immunities, claim requirements, exhaustion requirements, limits on common law wrongful discharge actions, protections against punitive damages, and exemption from most state wage and hour laws. At the same time, public employees have far more potent rights than private employees:

• Constitutional rights (e.g., due process and First Amendment protections)
• Property rights in employment
• Civil service rules
• Labor law protections
• Public meeting
• public records laws

Public Sector Employment Litigation addresses the critical areas in which public sector employment rights and procedures differ from those in the private sector. These include:

• Setting the terms and conditions of public employment
• Distinctions between public and private employment litigation
• Unique constitutional claims and defenses
• Claims related to hiring, promotion and compensation
• Public sector employee benefits, pensions and other postemployment benefits
• Discipline and discharge
• Leaves and layoffs
• Immunities, defenses, and remedies

It is an indispensable guide for anyone working on public sector employment issues, or considering a lawsuit challenging a public agency employment decision!