The California Legislature passed legislation on June 27, 2024, representing a significant overhaul of the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA). PAGA permits a current or former employee to pursue an action...more
Defendants have long argued that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be unwieldy and that courts should strike such claims where individual issues make them unmanageable. In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc.,...more
On Oct. 7, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California Food Safety Act (CFSA) into law, making California the first state to ban the manufacture, sale, distribution or delivery of food products containing four food...more
In a significant blow to employment-related arbitration agreements, the California Supreme Court ruled in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. that an employee has standing to bring non-individual, representative California...more
On Feb. 15, 2023, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), which made it a criminal offense for an...more
During a span of less than two months, a group of Arkansas lawyers filed 22 class action suits in Lonoke County, Arkansas, alleging violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Here are five key items to know...more
In a significant ruling for California employers, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 15, 2022, held in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573, that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) partially preempts California state...more
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court held that premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks pursuant to Cal. Labor Code Section 226.7 are “wages” that must be reported on wage statements per Cal. Lab. Code § 226 and...more
On March 21, 2022, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board rescinded the commonwealth’s COVID-19 workplace safety regulations, the first regulations of their kind enacted in the United States. In their place, the...more
On March 3, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. The new law invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements and class and collective waivers for sexual...more
On Sept. 22, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 701 (AB 701). Effective Jan. 1, 2022, it will become the first state law of its kind to regulate and set parameters around the use of production quotas at...more
Schools should be aware of several notable developments in the application and enforcement of Title IX. These developments include a federal decision on the most recent 2020 amendments to the Title IX regulations, a letter...more
The ADA and Website Accessibility – A Brief Background: Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities and services of places of public accommodation....more
On Jan. 15, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published updated guidance to its Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination. The revised guidance, the first substantial update since 2008, came just five...more
On Sept. 30, 2020, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance clarifying employers’ obligations to report COVID-19 cases resulting in hospitalization or death. Under the new guidance,...more
On July 15, 2020, Virginia became the first state in the nation to issue COVID-19 safety rules to employers. These rules will require employers to develop a series of safety precautions designed to limit the spread of...more
Virginia temporarily grabbed the media’s attention away from the coronavirus on May 21, 2020 when Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill decriminalizing simple possession of marijuana under state law. While it remains unlawful in...more
On April 12, 2020, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a series of new employee protection laws related to employee unpaid wage complaints. Notably, the enactment of HB 123 and SB 838, known as the Wage Theft Law, for the...more
In March and April 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam signed multiple bills into law meant to combat worker misclassification. The new legislation creates a private cause of action for misclassified workers, prohibits retaliation...more
Although Virginia’s recent amendments to its Human Rights Act have garnered the most media attention, Gov. Ralph Northam has also signed or proposed amending several other laws that will significantly impact Virginia...more
On April 11, 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Values Act (VVA), making Virginia the first state in the South to enact comprehensive protections for the LGBTQ community against discrimination in employment,...more
To curb the rapid spread of COVID-19, over half of U.S. states and numerous local governments have adopted shelter-in-place orders, most of which require residents to remain at home, except to provide or receive essential...more
On May 31, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California awarded a $102 million judgment against a national retailer for failing to comply with California’s meal break and wage statement laws. The bulk...more
On Feb. 4, 2019, the California Court of Appeal decided Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., holding that employers must provide “reporting time pay” when requiring employees to call in prior to a potential shift to learn whether they must...more