Michelle L. Cannon
Partner | Sacramento
mcannon@lozanosmith.com
Tel: 916.329.7433
Fax: 916.329.9050
Vcard
Bio
Overview
Michelle L. Cannon is a Partner in Lozano Smith's Sacramento office and co-chairs the firm's Labor and Employment Practice Group. For over 25 years Ms. Cannon has worked closely with a variety of public entities including school districts, county offices of education and community colleges. She is an active member in the Labor & Employment, Students, Community Colleges, Charter Schools and Litigation Practice Groups. Ms. Cannon has extensive experience in board governance, labor and personnel-related matters, student discipline, and charter school facilities. She was named to the Northern California Super Lawyers list each year from 2013 to 2020, and a Top Lawyer in Schools & Education by Sacramento Magazine from 2016 to 2020.Ms. Cannon's practice focuses on representing public entity clients in the following areas:
- General governance
- Brown Act issues
- Conflicts of interest
- Public Records Act
- Labor and personnel-related matters
- Employee discipline and dismissal
- Collective bargaining
- Investigation of discrimination and harassment complaints
- Certificated and classified employee issues
- Student issues
- Title IX
- Student discipline
- First Amendment issues
- Search and seizure related to students
- Charter school issues
- Review of charter petitions
- Revocation of charters
- Charter school facilities
- Litigation
- Sexual discrimination
- Sexual harassment
- Wrongful termination
- 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claims
- Contract disputes
- Writs and appeals in both state and federal courts
Additional Experience
Michelle has worked extensively in the collective bargaining arena in various roles. These roles include, but are not limited to, working as a facilitator in Interest Based Bargaining, acting as lead negotiator in the creation of new contracts, and advising clients through impasse proceedings.Ms. Cannon has also prosecuted numerous successful permanent certificated and classified termination proceedings. Ms. Cannon was recently published in the Daily Journal as a co-author of an article entitled "The Right to Education in California: It's for the Legislature to Decide Education Policy."
Presenter Experience
Ms. Cannon is a frequent speaker at workshops and CSBA and ACSA conferences. She regularly presents on topics such as sexual harassment prevention training, board issues, including the Brown Act and conflicts of interest, collective bargaining, discrimination, employee discipline and dismissals, student discipline, certificated employee lay off procedures, First Amendment issues, and charter schools.Professional Affiliations
- Member, California School Boards Association
- Member, California Council of School Attorneys
- Member, Placer County Bar Association
- Member, Sacramento County Bar Association
- Member, California State Bar Association
- Member, Animal Legal Defense Fund
Education
Ms. Cannon received her law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She earned a B.A. from St. Mary's College of California. Ms. Cannon has received certification through ATIXA as a participant in Level 1 and Level 3 ATIXA Civil Rights Investigator Trainings.AB 764: California Changes the Process for Educational Agencies and Special Districts Undergoing the By-Trustee Area Districting and Redistricting Process
March 2024Number 14AB 764 expands key aspects of the FAIR MAPS Act to apply to school districts, community college districts and county boards of education (referred to herein as “educational agencies”), as well as special districts.BackgroundMany educational agencies and special districts’ governing board members are elected at-large, meaning that each board member is elected by voters of the entire territory of the agency. Educational agencies and special districts that ho...
AB 764: California Changes the Process for Educational Agencies Undergoing the By-Trustee Area Districting and Redistricting Process Under the California Voting Rights Act
December 2023Number 47BackgroundIn 2019, the California Legislature adopted the FAIR MAPS Act, which created strict procedures that cities and counties must follow when redrawing their election district boundaries. Assembly Bill (AB) 764 expands the FAIR MAPS Act to now also apply to school districts, community college districts, special districts, and county boards of education. AB 764 also creates strict guidelines that local agencies must follow when either (1) transitioning from at-large ...
PERB to Employers: "Bargaining Costs Are Now on the Table as a Remedy"
June 2023Number 24On April 26, 2023, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued a decision awarding a remedy against an employer that had, up to that point, been largely theoretical: recovery for increased costs incurred from bargaining and other acts of representation related to an employer’s alleged unlawful conduct (bargaining costs). (City and County of San Francisco (2023) PERB Decision No. 2858-M.) Although in recent years, PERB has acknowledged the...
Legislative Update: Changes in DOJ Background Checks and Expansion of the Statewide Immunization Database
November 2022Number 54Two important bills, Senate Bill (SB) 731 and Assembly Bill (AB) 1797, were enacted in September, impacting the information available to school districts conducting background checks, and expanding the use of a Statewide immunization database.SB 731The Education Code prohibits local educational agencies (LEAs) from hiring staff who have been convicted of controlled substance abuse offenses, serious felonies, violent felonies, or sexual abuse offenses, unless the applican...
New Legislation Expands Employee Leave Rights
November 2022Number 51Assembly Bill 152 – COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick LeaveAssembly Bill (AB) 152 went into effect immediately and extended the requirement to provide eligible employees with supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) through December 31, 2022. This requirement was previously set to expire on September 30, 2022. Please note, AB 152 does not expand the total number of hours of SPSL an employee is entitled to. For example, an employee who has already exhaust...
U.S. Department of Education Releases Proposed New Title IX Regulations
July 2022Number 32On June 23, 2022, the United States Department of Education (Department) released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for public review. The 701-page document (published here) outlines the Department’s proposed new Title IX regulations. Four of the major changes in the proposed regulations are highlighted below.While the proposed regulations are currently available for review, they are still ...
New Case Highlights Interplay Between Special Education and Sexual Harassment Laws
May 2022Number 22A recent U.S. District Court decision out of Washington State provides clarification regarding how school districts are to apply their sexual harassment policies and analyze conduct as it relates to students with disabilities. Specifically, the decision in Berg v. Bethel School District (W.D. Wash., Mar. 16, 2022, No. 3:18-CV-5345-BHS) clarifies that a school district is required to protect students with disabilities from sexual harassment, even if the student does not specif...
Important Changes to PERB Regulations Effective January 1, 2022
January 2022Number 3Various amendments to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) regulations took effect on January 1, 2022, which are likely to impact public agencies with unfair labor practice charges and other matters pending before PERB. These changes include new deadlines for the filing of motions before a formal hearing, amended procedures for the use of subpoenas, new requirements for requesting a continuance of a formal hearing, and new procedures and deadlines for filing except...
Deadline Approaching to Begin Process to Repatriate Collections of Native American Remains and Cultural Items
November 2021Number 40Assembly Bill (AB) 275 was passed and signed by Governor Newsom on September 25, 2020. AB 275 strengthens existing law that requires state-funded institutions, including cities, counties, school districts, higher educational institutions, and museums (“agencies”), to repatriate collections of Native American human remains and artifacts in their possession or under their control to culturally affiliated California Native American tribes. AB 275 became law on J...
SB 95 - COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
March 2021Number 7On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 95 into law. SB 95 provides COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (COVID-19 SPSL) to covered employees until September 30, 2021. The new sick leave is in addition to any existing sick leave granted under California or federal law, and any other sick leave offered by employers, including under any collective bargaining agreement.SB 95 is a response to the continued impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce subsequent...
CDPH Guidance for Schools Creates Challenges and New Reopening Criteria
February 2021Number 3On January 14, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued new guidance (the Guidance) for all of California's local educational agencies (LEAs), including county offices of education, school districts, charter schools, and private schools, including nonpublic and nonsectarian schools. The Guidance includes new guidelines affecting how LEAs should proceed with providing in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, redefines wha...
Layoffs Under SB 98
July 2020Number 55After much anticipation, following the Governor’s grim May Revise, Governor Newsom and the California Legislature reached an agreement for the 2020-21 California state budget. The final 2020-21 state budget and the enacting legislation, including the Education omnibus budget trailer bill (SB 98), reflect the profound impact COVID-19 has and continues to have on the economy and on state revenues. While cuts to K-12 public education were spared, under SB 98 various layof...
New Title IX Regulations Issued by the Department of Education Take Effect August 14, 2020
June 2020Number 49On May 6, 2020, the United States Department of Education (DOE) issued much-anticipated Regulations (Regulations) addressing how schools and colleges (referred to as Recipients) must respond to claims of sexual harassment covered by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). Title IX is the federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational settings. The Regulations make significant changes to current requirements and practices and re...
Ninth Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenge to School Safety Plan Allowing Transgender Student Use of Single Sex Facilities
May 2020 Number 40 The Ninth Circuit said it best: "Schools face the difficult task of navigating varying student (and parent) beliefs and interests in order to foster a safe and productive learning environment, free from discrimination that accommodates the needs of all students." In the recent case of Parents for Privacy v. Barr (9th Cir. 2020) 949 F.3d 1210, the Ninth Circuit artfully untangled these "varying beliefs and interests" when it upheld a "Student Safety Plan" that allowed...
Framework for Labor-Management Collaboration Jointly Issued by Governor and Statewide Organizations
April 2020Number 20On April 1, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California labor and management organizations have jointly agreed to a framework for collaboration during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. The announcement comes at a time when local education agencies (LEAs) and bargaining units across California are working together to resolve issues related to the evolving developments and growing uncertainties related to COVID-19. The framework is intended to assist LEAs ...
Complainants Now Have 3 Years To File Charge Of Employment Discrimination
December 2019Number 79Effective January 1, 2020, employees complaining of discrimination in the workplace will have three years to file a charge of discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).On October 10, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 9 into law, which extends the deadline under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for employees to file a charge from one year to three years-tripling the amount of time employees previously had ...
AB 1353 Limits Classified Employee Probationary Period To Maximum Of Six Months
November 2019 Number 67 Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1353 into law. AB 1353 limits the probationary period for classified employees to six months, or 130 days of paid service, whichever is longer. This purpose of this bill is to harmonize the varying probationary periods for classified employees between merit system school districts and non-merit system school districts. Merit system school districts administer the hiring and retention of their classified employees ...
State Clarifies Compliance Timeline For Employer Harassment Prevention Training
October 2019 Number 58 Senate Bill (SB) 1343, enacted in September 2018, required employers with five or more employees to provide two hours of interactive sexual harassment prevention training to supervisory employees, and at least one hour of interactive sexual harassment training to nonsupervisory employees by January 1, 2020. The harassment training must include information regarding sexual harassment, abusive conduct, and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and se...
AB 5: New Law Further Limits Employers' Ability To Classify Workers As Independent Contractors
October 2019Number 53Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) on September 18, 2019, which takes effect on January 1, 2020. AB 5 codifies the California Supreme Court's decision inDynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (Dynamex) (see 2018 Client News Brief No. 20), which made it more difficult to classify a worker as an independent contractor. This new legislation also creates additional protections for workers.In Dynamex, the Court held that, for purposes of Indu...
Supreme Court Curtails Availability Of Defense To Employers In Employment Discrimination Cases
July 2019Number 36In Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis, the United States Supreme Court held that the requirement to file an administrative charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") prior to filing a discrimination lawsuit, which is set forth in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), is not a "jurisdictional" requirement and is thus subject to waiver. This means that if an employer fails to promptly raise an objection based on an employee's failure to fil...
Colleges Have a Duty to Warn or Protect Students from Foreseeable Violence
April 2018Number 14Colleges have a legal duty, under certain circumstances, to protect their students from or warn them about foreseeable violence in the classroom or during curricular activities, the California Supreme Court has ruled.In The Regents of the University of California, et al., v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the Court considered whether colleges owe a duty of care to their students to protect them from or warn them about foreseeable violence. This question is critical t...
Vanquishing "Vaping" on Campus
March 2018 Number 11 This article originally appeared on the Association of California School Administrators' ACSA Resource Hub. School administrators are facing a growing threat to student health that is often disguised as a standard school tool. JUULs are a type of vaporizing device-commonly referred to as "vapes"-that is soaring in popularity among young people. The use of vapes, JUULs, and similar products is extremely prevalent among high school students, creating a new generat...
New Requirements for Placing Community College Employees on Paid Leave
November 2017 Number 73 Assembly Bill (AB) 1651 adds a new hurdle community college districts must clear before placing an academic employee on paid administrative leave. AB 1651 specifies new requirements for placing academic employees on paid administrative leave, including two days' advance notice of such a placement unless an exception applies. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2018. Academic employees are individuals employed by a community college district in academic positio...
Significant New Title IX Guidance on Handling Sexual Misconduct: What Schools Need to Know
October 2017 Number 56 New guidance on schools' responsibilities for addressing claims of sexual misconduct under Title IX places greater emphasis on the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. The new guidance marks a significant departure from prior guidance but lacks details, creating the potential for many issues requiring legal consultation. On September 22, the United States Department of Education issued interim guidance on schools' responsibilities in addressing sexual mi...
Court Reaffirms Undocumented Students' Eligibility for Higher Education Aid Programs
February 2017 Number 6 The Second District Court of Appeal has rejected arguments that sought to bar the University of California (UC) from making certain financial aid programs available to undocumented students. In decidingDe Vries v. Regents of University of California (2016) 6 Cal.App.5th 574, the appellate court has reaffirmed undocumented students' eligibility for such programs. As some colleges express concern about the potential for federal policies that could impact their undocumen...
Governor Signs New Law Requiring Schools to Adopt Pupil Suicide Prevention Policies
October 2016 Number 82 Governor Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2246, which requires all county offices of education, school districts, state special schools and charter schools serving pupils in grades 7-12 to adopt pupil suicide prevention policies. Signed into law during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, AB 2246 represents an effort to address rising youth suicide rates. AB 2246 contains a number of requirements that local educational agencies (LEAs) must follow...
A Recent Federal Court Ruling Clarifies that Discrimination Claims Based on Sexual Orientation Are Covered Under Title IX as Sex Discrimination Claims
February 2016 Number 7 The United States District Court in Videckis v. Pepperdine University, (C.D. Cal, December 15, 2015) 2015 U.S. Dist. Lexis 167672, recently addressed the question of whether discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is actionable under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). In its decision, the court denounced any distinction prior courts have made between "sex discrimination" and "sexual orientation discrimination," and ruled that such a dist...
State Monitoring of Title IX Compliance is Beginning
December 2015 Number 76 The California Department of Education recently issued the 2015-2016 Education Equity program instrument (Guidance), which is used to monitor a local educational agency's (LEA) compliance with laws on equity in the treatment of students. Of particular note, the Guidance identifies a new Title IX reporting requirement that was enacted by Senate Bill (SB) 1349 in 2014. SB 1349 added section 221.9 to the Education Code, which requires that beginning with the 2015-2...
12 Weeks of Differential Pay Now Available for Certificated Employees on CFRA Maternity/Paternity Leave
October 2015 Number 56 On October 1, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 375, which creates a right to twelve weeks of differential pay for certificated employees who take maternity or paternity leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Until this bill, the CFRA only provided for an unpaid leave of absence for baby-bonding. Effective January 1, 2016, AB 375 adds Education Code section 44977.5 which establishes the right to differential leave for up to twelve week...
Staying Under the Umbrella: Board Members' Obligations and Immunities
Attorney Michelle L. Cannon presents an overview and summary of school board members' obligations and immunities under California Law. (13:38) Watch Individual Sections Part 1 of 3 - (4:48) In this part: Definitions and exceptions to immunities. Board member obligations, and immunities for a board member if he or she fails to fulfill these obligations. Overview of the general rules governing immunity. Principal immunity statute. Part 2 of 3 - (3:15) In this part: Differe...
Significant Cases
- Cole v. Oroville Union High School District (9th Cir. 2000) 228 F.3d 1092 - Assisted in the successful defense of a Northern California school district's decision not to allow graduates to deliver a sectarian invocation and proselytizing co-valedictorian speech.
- PLANS, Inc. v. Sacramento City Unified School District (9th Cir. 2003) 319 F.3d 504 - Successfully defended the school district's innovative Waldorf Methods instruction in public schools.