President-elect Trump surprised the business community on Friday night when he announced Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. Her selection was met by skepticism by some in the employer...more
11/25/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Now that we know Donald Trump will return to the White House as President, it’s time for employers to take a look at what they might expect during his second term in office. We have gathered insights from some of our firm’s...more
11/7/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Election Results ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Taxes ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Immigration Reform ,
Income Taxes ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
California just enacted a new law further expanding protections for freelance workers. Beginning in 2025, private employers who hire certain independent contractors will be required to provide a written agreement specifying...more
With the California gubernatorial recall election less than a week away, the campaign season is in high gear as Governor Newsom and his putative replacements crisscross the state in last minute appeals to voters. California...more
Most attention about whether the Biden administration would attempt to adopt a version of California’s notorious “ABC test” for determining whether individuals are properly classified as employees or independent contractors...more
The Labor Department finalized a new rule yesterday that aims to make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors – but the rule faces a very uncertain future given that the Biden administration...more
Governor Newsom just signed legislation that will extend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) exemption for employee, job applicant, and independent contractor data for an additional year – until January 1, 2022....more
10/1/2020
/ Ballot Measures ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Exemptions ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Personal Information ,
Privacy Laws
A new law just went into effect that revises California’s test for determining whether a worker is considered an employee or an independent contractor, slicing off a number of various work arrangements from having to comply...more
The California legislature just closed the books on one of the most interesting sessions in the State’s history. Not only did it itself shut down completely on two different occasions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last...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 for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
After returning from its hiatus on May 4, the California legislature has wasted no time in drafting a flurry of new bills which will affect employers in the aftermath of the state’s response to COVID-19. While the state...more
7/27/2020
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Burden of Proof ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Misclassification ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Pending Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
WARN Act ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
In a budget deal finalized today and expected to be approved by state lawmakers in a matter of days, the California state legislature has reached an agreement that will see $17.5 million allocated toward enforcement of AB-5...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed into law Executive Order N-51-20 to provide two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave to certain food supply chain workers, provided they are subject to specified qualifying...more
4/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Food Service Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Health and Safety ,
Independent Contractors ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sick Leave
After reviewing the 2,203 pieces of proposed legislation introduced in the California legislature by the February 21 deadline, it’s obvious that one issue will dominate debate in the 2020 session: the continued fallout from...more
3/2/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Wednesday, January 8th, saw a state court conclude that California’s controversial new misclassification law doesn’t apply to truck drivers, the second time in the last few weeks that a judge has come down hard on AB-5 for...more
1/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
First-year Governor Gavin Newsom signed some significant pieces of legislation in recent days that will impact employers across California – ranging from a ban on mandatory arbitration agreements, to a complete rewrite to the...more
10/15/2019
/ Amended Legislation ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Bias ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delays ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Privacy Laws ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
It’s been a long legislative year. And this being Governor Newsom’s first term in office, many observers have been anxiously awaiting to see what approach he takes when it comes to labor and employment legislation. Now all of...more
9/23/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Pending Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As the 2019 legislative year is about to come to a close, there are a number of critical labor and employment proposals still making their way to Governor Newsom’s desk. With just four short weeks remaining for the...more
8/21/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Reporting ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Liability ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unemployment Benefits
With just a one-page, single-paragraph Order, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday provided the faintest glimmer of hope for gig economy businesses everywhere – but especially for those in California. The federal...more
It’s been tough to keep up with developments concerning the fallout from the Dynamex case and California’s new ABC test for determining employee/independent contractor status. The past few months have seen several recent...more
7/12/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
DLSE ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
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
December 3 was the first day of the new legislative session in California. It was a day of festivities and ceremony, as new members were sworn into office and Democrats had their first taste of the “super-duper majority”...more
While much of the attention this midterm election has been focused on Congress and federal issues - the “blue wave” and a “referendum” on the Trump presidency - California employers know all too well that employment and labor...more
11/7/2018
/ #MeToo ,
ABC Test ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Arbitration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Earned Income Credit ,
Earned Income Tax ,
Election Results ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
General Elections ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Governors ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Law Enforcement ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Political Candidates ,
Popular ,
Portable Benefits ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Visas
As we have covered extensively, the California Supreme Court dropped a proverbial bomb earlier this year in the Dynamex case when it adopted a new legal standard known as the “ABC Test,” making it much more difficult for...more
10/31/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactivity ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
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