On February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi disseminated an internal memo within the Department of Justice (DOJ). The memo, Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences, explained that the DOJ’s Civil Rights...more
2/11/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Trump Administration
As previously discussed, on June 18, 2024, California’s political leaders announced a tentative deal to reform a number of aspects of California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). On June 27, 2024, the PAGA reform...more
7/9/2024
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On June 18, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced a tentative deal to reform a number of aspects of California’s Private Attorneys...more
6/21/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Governor Newsom ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Wage and Hour
On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, establishing a new written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) requirement for nearly all California employers. The WVPP requirement, which becomes...more
10/18/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
We previously described the “framework” for an agreement to reinstate California’s Supplemental Paid Sick Leave. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 114 into law on February 9, 2022. The specifics of the bill are...more
2/24/2022
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Supplemental Benefits ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour
On January 25, 2022, Governor Gavin Newson announced a “framework” for an agreement to reactivate California’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (“COVID PSL”) law for the period from January 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022....more
2/1/2022
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
What Happened? I Thought This Was Gone!
On Friday, December 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted the nationwide Stay that had been previously put in place by the United States Court of...more
12/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Masks ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Thursday, August 12, 2021, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) published an order strengthening the COVID-19 safety requirements applicable to many business establishments and even spaces in the City and...more
On June 17, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to adopt revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), and Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order allowing the revised ETS to go into effect immediately. ...more
6/21/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
California has issued new guidance for the use of face coverings that will take effect on June 15, 2021. The guidance impacts retailers and coincides with news that approximately 47% of Californians are now fully vaccinated....more
After several fits and starts, on June 3, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board finally passed revised Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) that now take into account employee vaccination status and...more
6/9/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Guidance Update ,
Masks ,
Occupational Exposure ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Prompted by increased availability of vaccine appointments, and broad eligibility for all U.S. adults and teenagers, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and California’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) have...more
5/18/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Exclusions ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On July 3, 2020, San Francisco enacted a temporary emergency ordinance requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to offer reemployment to employees laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Known as the “Back to Work”...more
On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a mandatory “stay-at-home” order, directing all California residents to stay home or at their place of residence. This order has taken immediate effect and is in...more
Enacted in 1963, the Equal Pay Act prohibits differential payments between male and female employees doing equal work except when made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by...more
4/11/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Pay Act ,
FEHA ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Job Applicants ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Reversal ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
The California Supreme Court issued its long awaited ruling in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, in which it clarified California’s so-called “day of rest” rule, which guarantees employees “one day’s rest therefrom in seven,” prohibits...more