California is at it again – adopting a host of new labor and employment laws that will further regulate and complicate business operations in the Golden State. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these...more
10/12/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Severance Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Workplace Safety
The California legislature has wrapped up its annual legislative session, once again sending a number of employment and labor law bills to Governor Newsom’s desk. One of the most notable, and potentially revolutionary bills...more
9/13/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Distribution Centers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NAICS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Quotas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Warehouses
Introduction Over a year and a half since the pandemic first started to take its toll on the health and welfare of individuals and the economy, the country is still reeling and struggling to recover. Some employers and...more
9/7/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommuting ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
Over the past few years, cities have started to implement workplace regulation, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments. The hotel industry, which often is one of the primary drivers of a local economy,...more
On May 18, 2021, the Santa Clara County Health Officer issued an order (May Order) that included a first-of-its-kind vaccination benchmarking mandate. On June 21, 2021, the Health Officer issued another order (June Order)...more
Dear Littler: We are a retail chain on the West Coast and are almost back to pre-COVID-19 operational levels. Now that vaccines are widely available, we’re hoping our workforce (and the public!) will soon be fully vaccinated....more
6/14/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The pandemic seems not to have slowed down state and local lawmakers. Indeed, over 100 new labor and employment laws and ordinances are scheduled to take effect between July 1, 2021 and November 1, 2021. Notably, while some...more
6/9/2021
/ Ban the Box ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hazard Pay ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Masks ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials in several Northern California counties were among the first to act, issuing orders addressing public health and safety....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
On December 18, 2020, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Standards Board)1 conducted a Stakeholders Meeting to address employer concerns about the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued...more
On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a program allowing third-party organizations in the food, apparel manufacturing, warehousing and storage, and restaurant sectors to create...more
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
Of the over 100 different ballot initiatives under consideration across the United States in the recent election, California’s Proposition 22 stands alone. The measure was perhaps the most significant initiative voters...more
Assembly Bill 2855, recently signed into law by Governor Newsom, will require that acute care hospitals in California reimburse employees and job applicants for certain training costs....more
The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Law, adopted in 1980, requires that certain “mandated reporters” make formal reports of suspected child abuse to law enforcement authorities. As defined in the law, child...more
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of the California Legislature for long stretches of time this year. The work of the body continued on, however, and at the end of the session it passed the usual flurry of labor...more
10/2/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment
As business owners and members of the labor and employment law community know all too well, California’s AB 5 went into effect on January 1 of this year. The law imposed the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker should...more
10/1/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Borello Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Newspapers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Signed into law on September 28, 2020, AB 1731 moves California’s work sharing program into the 21st century by mandating an online application process and specific deadlines for delivering claim forms. Work sharing is an...more
9/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EDD ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Furloughs ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Share
Effective January 1, 2021, SB 1383 expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to cover smaller employers and provide access to leave for additional covered reasons....more
AB 5, California’s sweeping and landmark independent contractor law, became effective on January 1, 2020. By January 6, bills were already being introduced to amend the law. At one time, more than 30 such bills were...more
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
As many states ease their shelter-in-place orders across the country, businesses are slowly reopening to the public. Although businesses are anxious to open their doors, as employers, they are grappling with how to comply...more
Back in February of this year, when employees were still reporting to work and the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to gain national attention, there was great concern that infected employees with insufficient sick leave...more