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
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
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 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
Immigration has, and continues to be, a major flashpoint between California and the Trump administration. In 2017, the California legislature passed significant legislation (AB 450) impacting how California employers deal...more
7/9/2018
/ Consent ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Records ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Intergovernmental Agreements ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Workplace Investigations
Issues related to immigration status, national security policy, and country of origin continue to be a hot topic of animated discussion at the federal level. In the midst of this national debate, California has amended its...more
6/25/2018
/ Amended Regulation ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
English-Only Rules ,
FEHC ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
Job Applicants ,
National Origin ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Unfair Immigration-Related Practices
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
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
As we discussed back in January, sexual harassment appears to be the hot topic for the California State Legislature’s 2018 session. This is certainly not a surprise, as issues related to sexual harassment and the #MeToo...more
2/21/2018
/ Adverse Action ,
Arbitration ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Civil Code ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defamation ,
DFEH ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hotels ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lobbyists ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Personal Liability ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Agencies ,
Record Retention ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Release of Claims ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stalking ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
If you’re a California employer, perhaps no single law strikes fear into your heart quite as much as the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA). PAGA allows individual “aggrieved employees” to bring...more
1/31/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Notice Requirements ,
Over-Time ,
Prejudice ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
One of the more controversial bills introduced in the California Legislature in 2017, which was eligible to be brought up this month, has been held and will not move forward.
AB 5 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher...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
California joins other states and municipalities in banning inquiries into salary history of applicants. AB 168 prohibits employers from seeking salary history information or relying on the salary history information...more
Joining a growing list of state and local governments, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee today signed an ordinance which will ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories. The new ordinance will go into...more
In recent months, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) has finalized two new sets of regulations that will both go into effect on July 1, 2017. California employers should pay close attention to these new...more
6/12/2017
/ Adverse Impact ,
Ban the Box ,
Burden of Proof ,
Business Necessity ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FEHC ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Sex Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transgender
As we discussed recently, this was a significant week in the California Legislature, as the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees decided the fate of hundreds of bills in announcing which bills made it off the...more
5/31/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Bids ,
Child Care ,
EMTs ,
Failed Legislation ,
Farm Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Higher Education Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
LGBTQ ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Works ,
Raids ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Tax Credits ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour
In the California Legislature, bills first are referred to the appropriate policy committee for hearing. Labor bills are referred to the Labor Committee, crime bills are referred to the Public Safety Committee, health bills...more
5/19/2017
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Ban the Box ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Emergency Response ,
Farm Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hotels ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigrant Protection Laws ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
LGBTQ ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Product Labels ,
Public Projects ,
Public Works ,
Raids ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
State Contractors ,
Tax Credits ,
Tips ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour
Our weekly California Legislature “hot list” provides you with a preview of the bills that are up (as well as other important legislative action) the following week...
Recap of Legislative Bill Activity Last Week – The...more
4/21/2017
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Apprenticeships ,
Consumer Bill of Rights ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Food Service Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigrants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
LGBTQ ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Gap ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Public Works ,
Retaliation ,
Right to Work ,
Small Business ,
Tips ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour
Our weekly California Legislature “hot list” provides you with a preview of the bills that are up (as well as other important legislative action) the following week...more
3/25/2017
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Colleges ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employee Training ,
Farm Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
LGBTQ ,
Long-Term Care ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Public Schools ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Student Employees ,
Tax Credits ,
Universities ,
Veterans
Our weekly California Legislature “hot list” provides you with a preview of the bills that are up (as well as other important legislative action) the following week...more
3/17/2017
/ Domestic Workers ,
Farm Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
Jerry Brown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Works ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On January 10th, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) approved proposed regulations related to employer use of criminal history information. The regulations will be filed with the Office of...more