A big focus of the #MeToo movement over the last several years has been on efforts to increase the statute of limitations for bringing sexual harassment claims. Governor Newsom just signed into law Assembly Bill 9 (Reyes),...more
10/11/2019
/ Bias ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Newsom ,
Governor Vetoes ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactivity ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
February 22 was the last day to introduce new legislative proposals for the 2019 California legislative year. A whopping 2,576 bill were introduced before the deadline, making for an extremely busy legislative year ahead....more
2/27/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
10/11/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Unions
This past Sunday (September 30) represented the deadline for Governor Brown’s final actions on legislative measures, and his final term as California’s governor will come to an end in a few short months.
A whopping 684...more
Wrapping up a whirlwind weekend, California Governor Jerry Brown just signed several pieces of legislation that will create new employer obligations in the areas of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Specifically,...more
10/2/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Board of Directors ,
Breastfeeding ,
Bystander ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
FEHA ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Trafficking ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Joint Liability ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
OSHA ,
Ports ,
Privacy Laws ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Record Retention ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Section 998 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Testimony ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trucking Industry ,
Undue Hardship ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On September 22, Governor Brown signed SB 1402, a bill that establishes joint and several liability for customers who contract with or use port drayage motor carriers who have unpaid wage, tax and workers’ compensation...more
9/25/2018
/ Blacklist ,
Civil Liability ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
DLSE ,
Exceptions ,
Governor Brown ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ports ,
Retailers ,
Tax Liability ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trucking Industry ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
On September 20, Governor Brown signed AB 2605, which provides that petroleum facility employees in safety-sensitive positions and are covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement are exempt from the requirement that...more
On September 19, Governor Brown signed AB 2334 (Thurmond) to make various workplace safety and health changes to California law, largely in response to recent activity by the Trump Administration. Among other things, AB 2334...more
9/20/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Electronic Records ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Brown ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trump Administration ,
Volks Rule ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
In perhaps the ultimate case of, “do as I say, not as I do,” Governor Brown recently signed legislation to provide PAGA relief to one narrow segment of California employers – unionized construction contractors.
Employers...more
9/20/2018
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Contractors ,
Exemptions ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Governor Brown ,
Labor Code ,
New Legislation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/17/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Baker ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Licenses ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Opioid ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Portable Benefits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Work ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
It’s been a long legislative year. But now all of the flurry of activity is behind us and hundreds of bills now wait on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for either a signature or a veto.
Last fall saw the dramatic birth of the...more
The #MeToo movement and the national focus on sexual harassment have sparked significant legislative activity at the state level designed to address these issues. Here in California, lawmakers introduced over two dozen bills...more
8/29/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Governor Brown ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Preemption ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment
It’s been a nice summer recess as the California Legislature has been on break, with Members returning to their home districts. But that respite is about to end as the Legislature reconvenes on August 6. There will be a...more
8/2/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DFEH ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Volks Rule ,
Wage and Hour
As many of you will recall from last year, Governor Brown signed legislation to prevent employers from asking about or relying on salary history information when making hiring decisions. That legislation, Assembly Bill 168...more
As we discussed in our last blog post, California employers received some rare good news in recent days. Bills to expand California’s paid sick leave requirement and to require employers to accommodate medical marijuana use...more
6/1/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Board of Directors ,
Breastfeeding ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Data Breach ,
Discrimination ,
DLSE ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Brown ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Immigration Records ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Data ,
Pending Legislation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trucking Industry ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
It’s not often that we get to report good news on this blog. But last week, two significant bills that would have imposed new requirements on California employers failed to advance past the Assembly Appropriations...more
5/30/2018
/ Failed Legislation ,
Governor Brown ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously discussed in this blog, last year Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation to prevent employers from asking about salary history information. That legislation, Assembly Bill 168 (Eggman), went into effect on...more
4/27/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
The ever-escalating dispute between the Trump Administration and the State of California over immigration policy is starting to resemble a Shakespearean drama.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, speaking at an appearance...more
3/9/2018
/ Attorney General ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Brown ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Injunctions ,
Labor Commissioners ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Preemption ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Search Warrant ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
Recently, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) proposed new draft regulations to implement provisions of two key employment statutes enacted last year.
Last year, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill...more
3/5/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Comment Period ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHC ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
State Labor Laws
February 16 was the deadline to introduce new bills in the California Legislature. By that date, nearly 2,200 bills were introduced. While that may seem like a staggering amount of legislative proposals (especially for a...more
2/28/2018
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Breastfeeding ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Construction Workers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DLSE ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FEHA ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Independent Contractors ,
Janitorial Services ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Lead Poisoning ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
Minor Children ,
Misclassification ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Records ,
Penalties ,
Personal Services ,
Portable Benefits ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Safety ,
Public Sector ,
Public Works ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Testimony ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Undue Hardship ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workplace Safety
Last year Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 450 – the “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” – to prohibit employers from voluntarily consenting to federal immigration agency access to worksites without a judicial warrant,...more
2/8/2018
/ Collective Bargaining ,
DLSE ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Records ,
Form I-9 ,
Governor Brown ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Search Warrant ,
Subpoenas ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Under legislation recently signed by Governor Jerry Brown, beginning January 1, 2018, all California employers are required to display a workplace poster related to transgender rights. The legislation, Senate Bill 396,...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. October was no...more
11/3/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Ban the Box ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Brown ,
GrubHub ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restraining Orders ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
California employers will soon need to adjust themselves to a new reality once again as a number of new workplace restrictions have been passed by the state legislature and just signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. State...more
10/17/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Burden of Proof ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Construction Project ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Gender Identity ,
General Contractors ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Liability ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Parental Leave ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Whistleblowers
On October 14, Governor Brown signed AB 1008 to prohibit most public and private employers with five or more employees from asking applicants about criminal conviction histories until after a conditional offer of employment...more
10/16/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employment Application ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO) ,
FEHC ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Negligence ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws