Executive Summary: On July 1, 2024, the Governor of California signed two pieces of legislation that significantly amended the Private Attorney’s General Act (“PAGA”), a statute which allows an employee, on behalf of the...more
Executive Summary: Beginning January 1, 2024, restaurant employers in California will be required to pay their workers for all costs associated with obtaining a food handler card, including treating the time spent obtaining...more
Executive Summary: Employers should look forward to another round of changes to the Golden State’s employment standards this year, the most challenging of which will be addressing employee protections for off-premises...more
10/16/2023
/ California ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Recreational Use ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workplace Violence
Executive Summary: On October 4, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 616, which amends the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA) (California Labor Code Section 245.5) to provide nearly...more
Executive Summary: California has passed a number of employment laws this year, including a requirement for employers to disclose pay scale information in any job advertisements; expansion of employees’ leave care rights;...more
10/7/2022
/ California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Labor Reform ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Pay Transparency ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Executive Summary: Recently, the California appellate court provided guidance on how employers may comply with the Golden State’s workplace seating requirement. While the court found that the inquiry is fact-intensive and...more
In a brief one-line order, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the California Trucking Association’s petition to review a lower court ruling holding that federal law does not preempt California’s independent contractor law. The...more
7/5/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Employee Definition ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Judicial Review ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trucking Industry
Executive Summary: In a stunning 8-1 decision that is expected to reverberate throughout the entire California business community, the United States Supreme Court on June 15, 2022 held that a state court ruling, which...more
6/16/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) became effective and created an array of protections for consumers regarding data privacy rights while creating business obligations related to the collection and...more
4/20/2022
/ California ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Information ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
Previously, we discussed the likelihood of California implementing procedures to reactivate Senate Bill (“SB”) 95 or 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (CSPSL) which expired on September 30, 2021....more
2/16/2022
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On January 25, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislatures announced plans to reactivate the expired COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (CSPSL) applying to employers with 26 or more employees, which we...more
On December 16, 2021, Cal-OSHA re-adopted its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for a second time after previously doing so on June 17, 2021. While Cal-OSHA initially proposed language for a second re-adoption on...more
12/20/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Ninth Circuit created a judicial “tremor” on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, when it issued a ruling partially tossing out a District Judge's Order blocking enforcement of a California law barring employers from requiring...more
On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court held in Jessica Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC that Labor Code Section 226.7 requires employers to pay meal and rest period premiums for each workday in which they were not...more
On June 17, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal-OSHA”) voted to adopt its (now third) revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards, which take effect immediately as a result of...more
6/18/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 9, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal OSHA) reversed a COVID-19 rule adopted last week, that, had it gone forward, would have permitted employees to forego masks if every other person...more
6/11/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 3, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) adopted revised regulations that address the impact of vaccinations as they have become widely available to the general public in...more
On May 5, 2021, California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal OSHA) updated its COVID-19 FAQ to provide guidance on California employers’ obligation to exclude employees who are fully vaccinated when exposed to a...more
On April 16, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 93 (SB 93) – a “rehiring and retention” law. SB 93 creates new Labor Code section 2810.8, which requires certain hospitality businesses to rehire...more
4/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DLSE ,
Employee Retention ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right of Recall ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
As discussed in our March 24, 2021 Alert, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill No. 95 (SB 95) which retroactively extends and expands COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CSPSL) through September 30,...more
3/26/2021
/ Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On March 19, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 95 (SB 95) which retroactively extends and expands COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CSPSL) through September 30, 2021. ...more
While the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Bernstein v. Virgin America, Inc., et al., ___ F.3d ____, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 5197 (9th Cir. Feb. 23, 2021), gave some wins to the airlines, air carriers employing...more
3/15/2021
/ Airline Employees ,
Airlines ,
Aviation Industry ,
Class Action ,
Delta Airlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Residents ,
Over-Time ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
United Airlines ,
Wage and Hour
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court in Kennedy Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, effectively ended the usage of time-punch rounding policies in the context of employee meal periods. This decision will...more
On November 18, 2020, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) proposed emergency regulations (Labor Code sections 3205, 3205.1, 3205.2, 3205.3 and 3205.4) to adopt new workplace protocols that...more
As part of his worker protection package, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed on September 17, 2020, Assembly Bill 685 (AB 685), which authorizes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA” or “division”)...more
9/23/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Governor Newsom ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Code ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety