Episode 309 -- Alex Cotoia on Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
I have often said to clients that retaliation claims in California are the easiest claims to allege and the hardest claims to defend. Regardless of the statute, a retaliation claim is essentially three things:...more
Employee claims of retaliation in the workplace have been on an upward trend since the California Legislature amended Labor Code section 1102.5 to include protections for whistleblower complaints made directly to a person...more
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 497—also referred to as the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act. SB 497 amends California Labor Code Sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 1197.5...more
New Jersey is leading the movement to create affirmative protections for temporary laborers. On February 6, Governor Murphy signed the “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights,” which strengthens protections for temporary workers....more
In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this third day of the holidays, my labor and employment...more
As we previewed previously, a number of hot-button legislative proposals made it to Governor Newsom’s desk this year – many of which would change the landscape for California employers. For the first time since the COVID-19...more
As technology has advanced, employers routinely rely on electronic timekeeping software to ensure accurate record keeping. Such software often includes a setting to round employees’ time (typically to the nearest quarter...more
California employers may not apply time-rounding procedures to meal period time entries, based on a recent California Supreme Court decision. ...more
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that acknowledgments may be evidence used by employers to refute meal period claims, but employers cannot obtain acknowledgments using “rounded” time punches when confronting...more
In Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, the California Supreme Court held that where employees’ time records reflect a missed, late or short meal break, a “rebuttable presumption” arises that a proper meal break was not provided....more
Taking a meal break in California is no simple affair. Culminating seven years of litigation involving one California employer, on February 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of California issued its unanimous opinion in Donohue v....more
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court overturned an appellate court’s conclusion that employers could follow precedent and round meal and rest periods when applying a neutral rounding technique. Donohue v. AMN...more
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
In light of the recent ruling, employers in California should be aware of the risks involved in using rounded time to determine whether an employee took a late or short meal break. ...more
If there were ever a time for California employers to have in place meal period policies and timekeeping practices for non-exempt employees that are compliant with California law, now is the time. California law requires that...more
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, holding that (1) employers cannot round time punches in the meal period context, and (2) time records showing noncompliant...more
Today, the California Supreme Court held that employers cannot use the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context, and that unrounded time records that show noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable...more
On September 17, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills (SB 1159, AB 685, and SB 1383) expanding workers’ protections in relation to COVID-19 exposure in the workplace, and expanding the California Family Rights Act....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Senate Bill 1159 was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 17, 2020, and went into effect immediately. Under the new law, if employees test positive for COVID-19 under specific circumstances,...more
A recent Arizona law, A.R.S. § 23-1601, provides protections for Arizona employers who use independent contractors. Many Arizona businesses aren't taking advantage of the benefits and protections the law provides....more
Executive Summary: On July 24, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed his 63rd executive order in response to the public health emergency posed by COVID-19. Executive Order 7JJJ (“the Order”) creates a rebuttable...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance to expand paid sick leave to employees not entitled to leave under the federal Families First Coronavirus...more
New Jersey is one of the more aggressive states in seeking to punish employers for the misclassification of their workers. It recently upped the stakes for employers by enacting the New Jersey Wage Theft Act, which was signed...more
Key Points - • Tight labor markets are leading courts and legislatures to closely scrutinize noncompetes and other restrictive covenants. • If there are changes in an employee’s job and/or the company’s business, it...more
Many companies at one time or another get overtime compliance wrong, at least to some degree. It’s an expensive topic. Liability under federal law for failing to correctly pay overtime comes at the hefty price of all unpaid...more