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
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
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
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
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
As we have previously discussed, one of the hottest gig economy issues to dominate political and public policy debate has been “portable” benefits – the concept that gig economy workers should have flexible, portable benefits...more
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
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
Of all the public policy debates surrounding the gig economy of late, one of the hottest topics has been “portable benefits” – the concept that gig economy workers should have flexible, portable benefits that they can take...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. November was no...more
12/7/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Attorney General ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Workweek ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Fines ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Harassment ,
Independent Contractors ,
IRS ,
Joint Employers ,
LGBTQ ,
Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Penalties ,
Title VII ,
Uber ,
UK ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
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