In November 2024, California voters will decide whether to raise the minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026 for all employers.
Under existing law, California’s minimum wage is $16 per hour for all employers. The ballot...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently determined that the Department of Labor (DOL) violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) in issuing its “Tip Credit” final regulations and vacated the final rule....more
The California Supreme Court issued its decision in Castellanos v. State (Castellanos) on July 25, 2024, ruling Proposition 22 (Prop 22), the initiative that allows businesses to classify drivers for app-based transportation...more
8/22/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mobile Apps ,
New Legislation ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Unions ,
Workers’ Compensation
The director of California’s Department of Finance has certified that the state’s minimum wage will increase from $16 per hour to $16.50 per hour for all employers as of January 1, 2025. Companies with operations in...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking certain wage rules adopted by the Department of Labor (DOL) that had expanded coverage of the Davis-Bacon Act...more
In Nessel v. JDM Golf LLC, 2024 WL 3494378, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona granted summary judgment for an employer, dismissing the federal law and Arizona state law claims of a former employee alleging...more
Over the years, California’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) has provided a procedurally convenient means for employees to seek expansive penalties for employers’ alleged violations of California’s very technical...more
7/12/2024
/ California ,
Class Action ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona recently evaluated the reasonableness of two restrictive covenants—the nonsolicitation of customers and the nonsolicitation of employees—along with claims related to...more
4/25/2024
/ Arizona ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Los Angeles County adopted a new Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers (the Ordinance) on February 27, 2024, which supplements California’s 2018 Fair Chance Act (located in California Government Code Section 12952 et. seq.)....more
California recently updated two pamphlets that employers must provide to employees. The new pamphlets are (1) a “Time of Hire Pamphlet” pertaining to workers’ compensation (to be provided at the time of hire) and (2) a “For...more
For some time now, California law has generally prohibited employers from entering into post-employment noncompete agreements with employees unless an exception applies. The basis for this prohibition is found in Section...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final independent contractor rule on January 10, 2024. The final rule revises the Trump administration’s interpretation of “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)...more
1/17/2024
/ ABC Test ,
Classification ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held in Papias v. Parker Fasteners LLC, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0775 (Ariz. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2023), that a discharged employee could proceed with his retaliation claim against his former...more
11/7/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Appeals ,
Arizona ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Former Employee ,
Former Employer ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination
With the 2023 California legislative year closed, it is once again time to summarize the new legislation that will affect businesses operating within the state and highlight relevant action items related to these bills. Below...more
10/24/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Defamation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Venture Capital ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 848 on October 10, 2023. This new law expands California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to provide covered employees with protected leave after a reproductive...more
10/19/2023
/ Bereavement Leave ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government
In a recent decision, the Arizona Court of Appeals considered the claim that an employee was discharged for disclosing allegedly unsafe conditions in violation of the Arizona Employment Protection Act (AEPA), A.R.S. §...more
As most companies are aware, absent specific exceptions, under California Business and Professions Code (Code) Section 16600, California generally prohibits employers from entering into contracts with employees that preclude...more
A federal court in Arizona recently rejected a defense for Arizona employers seeking to avoid liability for unpaid wages under the Arizona Wage Act (AWA). In Arrison v. Walmart, 2023 WL 4421425 (D. Ariz. July 10, 2023), the...more
9/1/2023
/ Arizona ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Retailers ,
State Legislatures ,
Summary Judgment ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage Act ,
Wage and Hour
California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) authorizes current and former employees to bring a representative action for civil penalties on behalf of the state against an employer for Labor Code violations committed...more
7/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued a decision on June 16, 2023, returning to an Obama-era standard used to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the National...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter on May 30, 2023, clarifying how employers should calculate Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave taken by employees “during a week that includes a holiday.” The letter...more
Recently, in Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a daily-rate worker who earned over $200,000 annually was not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. In...more
3/3/2023
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc v Hewitt No 21-984 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
California employers with employees and job applicants subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) can once again require such individuals to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
On February 15,...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on October 24, 2022, in Cariene Cadena et al. v. Customer Connexx, LLC et al., No. 21-16522, that the time a group of call center workers spent booting up their computers...more
With the 2022 California legislative year closed, it is once again time to examine the new legislation that will affect entities operating within the state. Summaries of key legislation are below, with relevant action items...more
10/25/2022
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Reporting ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Transparency ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act