A few weeks ago, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced a bill to implement a 32-hour workweek. While such a law is a long way from becoming a reality, it does raise interesting questions concerning exactly what a 32-hour...more
On January 18, 2024, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills to decide the question of whether California trial courts have inherent authority to strike claims brought...more
With its decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Adolph”) the California Supreme Court has reignited the debate surrounding arbitration agreements containing waivers of an employee’s right to bring a representative...more
Seemingly with every passing day the California legislature adds more obligations (and opportunities for costly missteps) to California employers. This time we are discussing California Senate Bill 1162, dubbed California’s...more
10/26/2022
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Transparency ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2188 into law, which prohibits employers from taking any adverse employment action against an employee in conjunction with an employee’s off-duty marijuana use....more
10/4/2022
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees
On June 28, 2018, then California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA provided significant privacy rights and protections to California consumers and placed numerous...more
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated ruling in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services and decided two critical questions: first, whether an employee is entitled to “waiting time...more
On March 23, 2022, in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District created a split in authority when they held that wage-and-hour lawsuits brought under California’s Private...more
On February 9, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Senate Bill 114 (“SB 114”), which entitles most California employees to a new bucket of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. The law will go into effect on...more
2/22/2022
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) COVID vaccine-or-test rule for large employers. Although the OSHA rule is effectively off the...more
2/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
2021 was another important year for California employers. From decisions by the California Supreme Court regarding employees’ rights to premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks, to legislation expanding the scope of...more
Way back on October 10, 2019, California Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”), which essentially made it unlawful for California employers to require workers or job applicants to execute arbitration agreements...more
In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the California Supreme Court determined that the phrases “regular rate of compensation” and “regular rate of pay” are synonymous for the purposes of California Labor Code section...more
As more and more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine, employees are starting to ask questions about mask requirements. Mask requirements currently vary widely (and are changing frequently) depending on the state in which the...more
On March 19, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Senate Bill 95 (“SB 95”) which entitles most California employees to a new bank of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. The law will go into effect on March 29,...more
The California Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Sullivan v. Oracle Corp. (“Sullivan”) and its more recent decisions in Ward v. United Airlines (“Ward”) and Oman v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Oman”) provided employers with a...more
On November 20, 2020, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standard Board adopted temporary regulations regarding measures that employers must undertake in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. ...more
The public health crisis caused by COVID-19 has caused lawmakers up and down California to consider new and previously unheard of ways to protect employees. While most of these methods have involved protections for existing...more
The 2020 presidential election, coupled with nationwide civil unrest and a global pandemic, is creating a lot of conversation in employees’ personal and professional lives. In a February 2020 survey, employees reported...more
California Assembly Bill 1867 (signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 9, 2020) and Senate Bill 1383 (signed on September 17, 2020) significantly expand the rights of California employees to both paid and...more
Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 5, which signaled a seismic shift in the way California employers classify workers as either independent contractors or employees. On September 4, 2020,...more
In yet another effort to adapt California law to the current pandemic, on May 6, 2020 California Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-62-20 (the “Order”). As it pertains to workers’ compensation benefits, the Order...more
States around the country have been under various “stay at home” orders as governors have tried to protect public health during the coronavirus pandemic. Those efforts have taken a significant toll on businesses and their...more
On April 16, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-51-20 (the “Order”). Similar to laws recently enacted by local California jurisdictions, the Order entitles certain workers to paid leave for...more
California is like every other state in that it does not require employers to provide employees with paid time off. Unlike in most other states, however, if an employer does provide employees with paid time off, then...more