The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) has been increasingly criticized as harmful to employers and employees. Well-meaning organizations are forced to expend resources settling often frivolous actions rather than...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) just approved a rule that would largely prohibit making or enforcing employee noncompete agreements. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others have already sued to block the new rule. What...more
In a post-pandemic environment, more people are still working from home than ever before. In this episode, Dorsey Partners Kent Schmidt, Nisha Verma, and Heather Dillion discuss the types of claims they are seeing and issues...more
6/21/2023
As union organizing increases and covers industries not traditionally captured by unions, the landscape for employers is changing rapidly. Below are the key items employers (both union and non-union) should keep in mind for...more
Governor Newsome has signed S.B. 1162, which requires employers to make salary ranges for positions available to both applicants and employees and expands pay data reporting requirements to better identify gender and...more
9/29/2022
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Newsom ,
Job Ads ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws
Currently, under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), California employers with 50 or more employees must provide 12 weeks of job protection to employees to care for a seriously ill family member or for one’s own...more
On September 9, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1867, which supplements both the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act and California Executive Order N-51-20, with the result of providing some form of paid...more
On April 7, 2020, several California cities and counties issued emergency orders requiring nonmedical essential workers and residents who are leaving their homes to wear face coverings. Face coverings may include cloth...more
In Kim v. Reins, the Supreme Court was faced with the following question: Do employees lose standing to pursue a PAGA claim if they settle and dismiss their individual claims for Labor Code violations? To the surprise of many...more
3/17/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reversal ,
Settlement Offer ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment
Employees must be paid for time spent on their employer’s premises waiting for, and undergoing, required searches of bags and other property voluntarily brought to work, according to the California Supreme Court’s ruling...more
On October 10, 2019, California Governor Newsom signed a bill seeking to ban employers from requiring employees or applicants to sign arbitration agreements waiving their rights under the Labor Code or the state’s...more
On October 11, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 51, which will drastically change the requirements for employers who use arbitration agreements. Specifically, the new law bans employers from requiring, as a...more
10/17/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
State Labor Laws
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
10/9/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Governor Newsom ,
Health Insurance ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Withholding Tax
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
When it comes to marijuana, the legal landscape is changing rapidly. Ten states, including California, have legalized recreational use. In more than twenty other states, some form of medical marijuana is legal....more
In July of 2018, Dorsey updated you on the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Troester v. Starbucks Corp., where the Court rejected the federal minimis doctrine, which exempts employers from compensating employees for short...more
In his last bill signing of his final term, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law several bills affecting employers’ obligations relating to sexual harassment. Those imposing the most sweeping changes are described briefly...more
While portions of California’s Immigrant Worker Protection Act have been enjoined, employers remain subject to notice obligations. California passed a statute limiting the extent to which employers could cooperate with...more
The California Supreme Court recently confirmed that employers seeking background reports need to ensure they are in compliance with both the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) and the Consumer Credit...more
In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court rejected the federal de minimis doctrine, making clear that in any instance in which employees perform “minutes of work,” before or after their shifts, that time must...more
7/31/2018
/ 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 ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
It’s a situation any Human Resources professional might find themselves in – circumstances require you to effectuate a termination in short order and you have to scramble to calculate the employees’ correct final pay and...more