California is considering a new law (Assembly Bill 331), also known as the Automated Decision Systems Accountability Act. Modeled after the Biden Administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (whitehouse.gov), AB 331...more
A federal appeals court recently affirmed a summary judgment entered in favor of WinCo Foods in a class action alleging that WinCo should have reimbursed successful job applicants for the time and travel expenses they...more
6/17/2022
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pre-Employment Health Screenings ,
Reimbursements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Travel Expenses ,
Wage and Hour
Many employers undertake routine background checks as part of their hiring process. To be effective, of course, the process has to be completed in a timely manner....more
3/16/2022
/ Background Checks ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws
A recent ResumeBuilder survey found that 32% of Americans admit to lying on their resume. In the current highly active labor market, with 65% of employees searching for a new job according to the PwC US Pulse Survey,...more
A U.S. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit of a former employee who claimed disability discrimination after he was terminated for testing positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test. Espindola v. Wismettac...more
The California Court of Appeal has ruled that date of birth and/or a driver’s license number cannot be used to identify individuals in an electronic search of the criminal index of court records. All of Us or None v....more
7/28/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws
Luna v. Hansen & Adkins Auto Transport, Inc., 2020 WL 1969409 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Leonard Luna filed this putative class action, alleging a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) because his former employer had...more
Anthony v. TRAX Int’l Corp., 955 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2020) -
After Sunny Anthony filed suit, alleging she was terminated because of her disability, the employer (TRAX) learned that contrary to her representation on her...more
In an effort to give consumers more control over the data businesses collect from and about them, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018 (and amended it a few months later). The...more
9/24/2019
/ B2B Organizations ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Exemptions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Amendments ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Rulemaking Process
Employers are increasingly turning to social networking sites to find additional information about candidates. In fact, recent articles suggest that an applicant’s failure to have a social media presence is viewed by many...more
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Bill 2770 (Assembly Member Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks), an act to amend Section 47 of the Civil Code. The bill should protect both sexual harassment victims and employers...more
The California Office of Administrative Law recently approved new amendments to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), strengthening the protections afforded to applicants and employees, including...more
The California Chamber of Commerce has just identified a new raft of recently introduced “job killer” bills that have been proposed in the California Legislature.
This year’s list of 27 proposed laws includes measures that...more
Newly Enacted California Statutes -
Statewide "Ban-the-Box" Legislation -
Known as "Ban-the-Box" legislation in reference to the box applicants are asked to check if they have any prior criminal convictions, the new...more
11/10/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Ban the Box ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Parental Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workers Compensation Act ,
Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)
On Saturday, October 14, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1008 into law, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2018. Known as the “Ban the Box” legislation, in reference to the box applicants are...more
11/1/2017
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a statewide salary history inquiry law that will largely restrict employers in the state from seeking and relying upon salary history information from applicants during the...more
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a statewide salary history inquiry law that will largely restrict employers in the state from seeking and relying upon salary history information from applicants during the...more
San Francisco has become the latest jurisdiction to pass a law restricting employers from inquiring about prior salary history during the hiring process. The ordinance, which will go into effect on July 1, 2018, will restrict...more
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council (“FEHC”) has finalized new regulations further limiting employers’ ability to consider criminal history when making employment decisions. The new FEHC regulations, which are...more
As we reported here in December, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance is now effective. The new law, also referred to as the “Ban the Box “ ordinance, restricts employers in the City of Los...more
On December 9, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the “Fair Chance Initiative” into law. The new law, also referred to as the “Ban the Box” ordinance, restricts employers in the City of Los Angeles from asking job...more
12/14/2016
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance
Newly Enacted California Statutes -
Minimum Wage Increases -
As of January 1, 2017, businesses with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour; the rate increases to $15.00 per hour in 2022....more
10/26/2016
/ Actors ,
Age Discrimination ,
Bonds ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
DFEH ,
Distracted Driving ,
Domestic Violence ,
Domestic Workers ,
Earned Income Credit ,
Earned Income Tax ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employment Contract ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Forum Selection ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Care ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigrants ,
Job Applicants ,
Juveniles ,
Minimum Wage ,
Name and Likeness ,
NLRA ,
Online Platforms ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Required Documentation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sick Leave ,
Smartphones ,
Smoking Bans ,
Stalking ,
State Contractors ,
Venue ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Websites ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
In the past, a California employer could freely inquire about and consider a job applicant’s history of criminal convictions in determining any condition of employment including hiring, promotion, or termination. Although...more
The latest legislative session has just ended, and, true to form, the California Legislature has added more than a dozen new laws affecting employers doing business in the nation’s largest state. These statutes are in...more
10/21/2015
/ Accrual Method ,
Anti-Pay Secrecy ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Change in Control ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Enforcement ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Labor Standards Enforcement ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Activity ,
Protected Class ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Substantially Similar ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Wage Statements ,
Whistleblowers
It is no secret that California is no friend to arbitration agreements. As the United States Supreme Court noted in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, “California’s courts have been more likely to hold...more
8/26/2015
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Job Applicants ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Waivers