The Background: The Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") created or enhanced various tax credits for qualifying renewable energy projects. However, a taxpayer loses 80% of otherwise-available IRA credits unless prevailing wage...more
7/5/2024
/ Apprenticeships ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Energy Projects ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour
The 2023 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws....more
In Short -
The Background: The Inflation Reduction Act provides for robust tax incentives on qualifying renewable-energy construction projects. In order to claim the full amount of such tax credits on qualifying projects,...more
10/11/2023
/ Apprenticeships ,
Clean Energy ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Workers ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
NLRA ,
Popular ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour
In Short -
The Situation: The CHIPS Act provides over $50 billion in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees, and other programs to incentivize semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The U.S. Department of...more
In Short -
The Situation: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ("PWFA") and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act ("PUMP Act") into law....more
In response to pressure from Congress, OFCCP has extended the deadline for contractors to object to disclosure of EEO-1 reports and opened the door for new objections....more
The California Legislature passed a number of new and important labor and employment laws during its 2022 session.
...more
In Short -
The Situation: The national trend toward pay equity is gaining momentum, leading to transformative changes for employers. A growing list of states and local jurisdictions are enacting pay transparency laws,...more
In Short -
The Situation: The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to articulate the standard for determining joint-employer relationships under the National...more
Case Overview -
On June 15, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573. The Court held that the rule from Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles,...more
6/29/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
The California Supreme Court sides with employees in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, finding derivative claims available for waiting time and pay stub penalties available for meal and rest break violations.
This...more
5/31/2022
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Derivative Suit ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R. 4445, titled "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021" ("Act"). The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit employers...more
3/18/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On February 17, 2022, Assembly Bill 2280 was introduced in the California Assembly. AB 2280 offers a long-awaited solution for companies owing past-due property to the State of California....more
The 2021 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new labor and employment laws. Although many relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature adopted more nonpandemic-related statutes this term as...more
12/9/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Quotas ,
Record Retention ,
Separation Agreement ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
On August 16, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided a pair of cases addressing California's prevailing wage law—Busker v. Wabtec Corporation (No. S251135) and Mendoza v. Fonseca McElroy Grinding Co., Inc. (No. S253574)....more
The California Supreme Court holds that "regular rate of compensation" used for calculating meal and rest period premiums is identical to "regular rate of pay" used for calculating overtime premiums, which includes hourly...more
7/20/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Situation: A rising number of lawsuits by former and current employees claim that workplaces not complying with COVID-19 health guidelines are public nuisances requiring abatement.
The Result: Courts are split on...more
D.C. Circuit calls for broadening the scope of Title VII's antidiscrimination provision.
On February 19, 2021, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit urged the full court to change the standards that...more
The 2020 California legislative session led to a number of new laws that already have had significant impact on employers in the state. Employers were barraged with a combination of state and federal pandemic-related...more
The Situation: Seventeen states and the District of Columbia filed suit in the Southern District of New York seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Department of Labor's ("DOL") new joint employer...more
9/17/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Employers ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
New Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Employers navigating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic cannot ignore the threat of labor and employment claims that may arise from the crisis. Indeed, a steady stream of pandemic-related lawsuits have already been filed,...more
6/1/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
The first year of Governor Gavin Newsom’s term produced many significant pieces of employment legislation in California, including most prominently one law limiting the use of independent contractors for most businesses and...more
2/10/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The Situation: The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered whether an employer's consumer report disclosure form, which contained a combination of disclosures mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act...more