The California Legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed several new laws covering topics ranging from COVID-19 to leaves of absence to data reporting. Most of these laws take effect January 1, so now is a good time for...more
12/14/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Board of Directors ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Child Abuse ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Health and Safety ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Leave of Absence ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Notification Requirements ,
Pay Data ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Secretary of State ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Successor Liability ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
As states are relaxing COVID-19-related restrictions, employers should remain cautious about business travel. California’s public health orders still limit travel to an “urgent matter” or that which is “essential to your...more
As states and localities begin to relax shelter-in-place requirements and allow businesses to reopen, the coronavirus pandemic presents new challenges for employers. In addition to operational and logistical questions...more
4/29/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
Duty of Confidentiality ,
EFMLA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
EPSLA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Testing ,
PHI ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehiring Issues ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
With the spread of COVID-19 and the rapidly evolving federal, state, and local government response, it can be difficult for employers to keep up with their rights and obligations. This week, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom...more
3/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
San Francisco ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
WARN Act
The California Legislature and Governor Newsom have passed a sizable list of new laws governing the workplace in 2020. Employers are, once again, advised to evaluate their workplace rules and practices to insure they keep...more
12/30/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Breastfeeding ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
DFEH ,
DLSE ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Janitorial Services ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
No-Rehire Provisions ,
Organ Donation ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retroactive Application ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
All employers should be aware that their use of mandatory employment arbitration agreements is prohibited in California effective January 1, 2020 under recently signed Assembly Bill No. 51 (AB 51).
Under current California...more
On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a consumer-friendly privacy law inspired by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, is set to take effect. The CCPA is aimed towards bolstering...more
10/3/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Retention ,
Data Security ,
Data Use Policies ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Records ,
Job Applicants ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws
A California court has held that employees required to call their employers before a shift to determine whether they are assigned to work may be entitled to reporting time pay on days when they are not actually put to work....more
2/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Call-In Pay ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IWC ,
Mercantile Industry ,
On-Call Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders ,
Work Schedules
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law several bills that will have significant impact on employers’ workplace obligations. Effective January 1, 2019, the new laws will restrict nondisclosure agreements and...more
10/11/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Board of Directors ,
Breastfeeding ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
DFEH ,
Diversity ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Release Agreements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Secretary of State ,
Section 998 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Offer ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment
Employers which use background checks in their hiring process without obtaining written authorization may wish to review their practices. The California Supreme Court has rejected an argument that employers could not...more
Last week, in Troester v. Starbucks, a unanimous California Supreme Court held that California labor statutes and wage orders do not incorporate federal de minimis work exceptions. Yet, the Court declined to define when, if...more
7/31/2018
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Reversal ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
The California Fair Employment and Housing Council has published new regulations that increase protections from national origin discrimination, including expanding the definition of “national origin.” The regulations will...more
On May 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that arbitration agreements containing class action waivers are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act. 584 U.S. ___ (Dkts. 16-285,...more
5/29/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employment Contract ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 7
The California Supreme Court established a new three-part test to determine whether a purported independent contractor should be classified as an employee covered by California’s Wage Orders. Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v....more
5/7/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Classification ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
In Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation of California, the California Supreme Court clarified how a flat sum bonus – a bonus that is independent of the number of hours worked by an employee – must be enhanced to comply with...more
The California Court of Appeal has held that the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) Act requires that employers notify employees of temporary layoffs, even if anticipated to last less than six...more
California employers must allow their employees to take one day of rest per each workweek, unless they work less than 30 hours per week or each shift in that workweek is 6 hours or less, the California Supreme Court decided...more
An employer’s refusal to accept a former employee’s resignation rescission request is not an adverse employment action under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), according to a California Court of Appeal...more
Considering criminal records when making employment decisions has long been the subject of scrutiny, and will soon be governed by new California regulations. On March 27, 2017, the California Office of Administrative Law...more
California Governor Jerry Brown concluded the 2016 Legislative Session by signing several bills affecting employment relationships. Listed below are those bills that perhaps most critically impact your daily operations. ...more
11/8/2016
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Arrest ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employment Contract ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Forum State ,
Governor Brown ,
Juvenile Justice System ,
Migrant Workers ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Popular ,
Prior Conviction ,
Race Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
Effective January 1, 2017, San Francisco is scheduled to become the first city in the United States to require fully paid parental leave. The Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (the Ordinance) was passed unanimously by San...more
On April 4, 2016, a California Court of Appeal set new precedent in Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, opining that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) may require employers to reasonably...more
Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law AB 1506, a bill that will allow employers to cure two types of technical itemized wage-statement violations to avoid the risk of costly Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) suits....more
The California Court of Appeal held last week in Cardenas v. M. Fanaian, D.D.S., Inc. that retaliation claims under California Labor Code § 1102.5 need not be based on a report of employer wrongdoing or promote a fundamental...more
10/7/2015
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Damages ,
Economic Loss Doctrine ,
Evidence ,
Labor Code ,
Lost Earnings ,
Police Reports ,
Protected Activity ,
Public Policy ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
On August 31, 2015, the California Legislature overwhelmingly passed SB 358, the “Fair Pay Act,” in an effort to close the wage gap that exists between men and women. According to the legislative findings, in 2014 women in...more