A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
The federal government, states, counties, and cities were active again this year passing workplace legislation intended for the most part to protect employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s...more
11/27/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California enacted two new bills expanding the scope and consequences of the state’s policies against restrictive covenants. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 699 into law on September 1, 2023, and Assembly Bill 1076 into...more
10/18/2023
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
We are in the final stretch of the California legislature’s first year of a two-year session. One bill that sped through the legislative process—without any registered opposition—is Senate Bill 699, which extends the state’s...more
9/7/2023
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
2022 is coming to a close, and the new year will be here before we know it. While many states, cities and counties seem to be willing to pass employment laws and regulations at any time, the first day of a new year is still...more
11/3/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California state and local governmental bodies—our state legislature, and counties and cities—were active again this year in their efforts to regulate the workplace. Littler Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these...more
10/6/2022
/ Amended Regulation ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more
...more
5/3/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Right of Recall ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Just about a year ago, in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity in many sectors went from red hot to nearly frozen, seemingly overnight. The hospitality industry was particularly hard hit, as business...more
4/19/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Rehiring Issues ,
Right of Recall ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court held in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, Inc. that the ABC test for determining worker classification fashioned in its groundbreaking decision, Dynamex v. Superior...more
1/19/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As employers continue to grapple with the ever-changing legal landscape of COVID-era regulations, 2021 will bring changes to the traditional realm of employment law in dozens of jurisdictions. Compared to prior years, there...more
11/10/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On July 3, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) returned unsigned File Number 200455, an emergency ordinance that took effect immediately and now requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide written notice...more
7/8/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reemployment ,
Severance Agreements ,
Written Notice
Since its enactment last fall, California’s AB 5—legislation adopting the so-called “ABC test” for purposes of determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or statutory employee—has dominated not only the legal...more
3/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Seeking to tighten worker misclassification enforcement in New Jersey, on January 20, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a package of legislation to add misclassification penalties, allow stop-work orders against...more
1/29/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Information Sharing ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Posting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Wage and Hour
The battle over the scope and applicability of the so-called “ABC test” in determining California employers’ potential liability under wage and hour and other state labor laws continues unabated....more
1/24/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Franchises ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court agreed to review a second case raising questions as to the scope and retroactivity of its landmark 2018 Dynamex decision....more
1/22/2020
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Petition for Review ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On January 2, 2020, the Attorney General for the State of California released the title and summary of Initiative 19-0026—a proposed ballot measure that would overturn the state’s recently enacted independent contractor law,...more
1/6/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Ridesharing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The fight over the scope of the “ABC test” for determining the status of workers under California state law continues unabated. A series of court filings last week suggests that state and local officials may be gearing up to...more
11/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Wage and Hour
In the wake of California’s enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 5—legislation that threatens to reclassify 2 million California independent contractors as “employees” under California labor and employment laws—legal questions...more
10/31/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dominos ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
McDonalds ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Businesses with operations in California have begun to identify options and implement strategies for compliance with Assembly Bill (AB) 5, which imposes the ABC test for identifying whether a worker is an independent...more
10/30/2019
/ 1099s ,
ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tax ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Income Taxes ,
Independent Contractors ,
IRS ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Out-of-State Employees ,
Retroactive Application ,
Safe Harbors ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Rates ,
Wage and Hour
Upending the longstanding practice of employers including no-rehire clauses in agreements resolving employment disputes, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that will prohibit such provisions in employment...more
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), a bill that will dramatically alter whether, and under what circumstances, businesses may classify workers as independent contractors...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law sweeping legislation—Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5)—that will dramatically reshape the contours of California’s workforce and economy, and potentially...more
9/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
This article is an update to prior publications from Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute regarding Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), passed by the California legislature on September 11, 2019.
On September 11, 2019,1 the California...more
9/16/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour