2023 was a seismic year for the employment landscape, with changes to state and federal laws that touch on hiring, firing, and just about everything in between. Members of Fenwick’s employment group recently walked through...more
2/1/2024
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology ,
Wage and Hour
U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Proposed Rule on Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act -
On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule updating the...more
10/25/2022
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Reporting ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Marijuana ,
New York ,
Notice Requirements ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Federal contractors who have filed an Employment Information Report (EEO-1) Type 2 Consolidated between 2016-2020 and wish to object to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)...more
California Significantly Expands Family Rights Act -
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law SB 1383, which significantly expands the coverage and scope of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). CFRA,...more
10/21/2020
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Classification ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equity ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Training ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Outbreaks
In the last few days, federal, state and local governments have issued formal and informal guidance addressing family leave, paid sick leave, the California WARN Act and the state’s shelter-in-place orders to address the...more
3/31/2020
/ Cal-WARN ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Pay
California Legislative and Agency Update -
Read about the latest California cities to increase hourly minimum wages, newly expanded transgender protections, criminal background check limitations and other changes in...more
8/18/2017
/ Breastfeeding ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFEH ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
LGBTQ ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
California Legislative Update -
In the latter half of 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed numerous bills into law. Below is a summary of those laws that will affect California employers in 2017 and...more
1/21/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
Cell Phones ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Company Vehicles ,
Computer Software Workers ,
Criminal Records ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Drivers ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Governor Brown ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Injunctions ,
Juveniles ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mental Health ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
NLRB ,
No-Poaching ,
Notice Requirements ,
NYDOL ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Parental Leave ,
Payroll Records ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Ridesharing ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
State-Run Retirement Plans ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Venue ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On November 22, 2016, a federal district court in Texas preliminarily enjoined the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing portions of its rule increasing the federal minimum salary for exempt executive, administrative, and...more
11/29/2016
/ Balance of Harships ,
Barack Obama ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Imminent Harm ,
Lack of Authority ,
Likelihood of Success ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Interest ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
If you have not audited your exempt employee pay practices for compliance with the federal Department of Labor’s rules announced earlier this year, you have just under two weeks to do so. Starting December 1, 2016, the...more
11/18/2016
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Last week, the federal Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its long-awaited final rule increasing the minimum salary requirements for certain exempt workers. The DOL announced its final rule on May 18, 2016, and the rule...more
Legislative Update -
Governor Brown recently signed into state law the following employment law bills (among others):
SB 358—Referred to as the California Fair Pay Act, this law is directed at closing the pay...more
10/26/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Background Checks ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Application ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantially Similar ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
California Legislature Acts to Outlaw Pre-Employment Mandatory Agreements to Arbitrate Labor Code Claims -
In late August, the California Senate and Assembly passed AB 465, which, if signed by Governor Jerry Brown, will...more
9/24/2015
/ Advance Notice ,
Ban the Box ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Brown ,
Health Insurance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Premiums ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sick Leave ,
Unpaid Trainee
The federal Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a proposed rule to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act’s white-collar employee exemptions (i.e., executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer...more
New Amendments Clarify California Paid Sick Leave -
This month, the California Legislature enacted AB 304, an urgency measure that became effective on July 13 and provides much needed clarity on various aspects of...more
7/28/2015
/ Accrued Benefits ,
Administrative Interpretation ,
Credit Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DLSE ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Sick Leave ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Federal white collar exemptions: According to the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) most recent Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, proposed rules revising the regulations implementing the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) are...more
Employer’s Motive, Not Confirmed Knowledge Of Accommodation Need, Is Basis Of Religious Accommodation Violation -
Federal anti-discrimination laws (“Title VII”) prohibit an employer from refusing to hire a candidate to...more
6/24/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Ban the Box ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Clothing ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour
Partial-Day Leave Deductions Lawful for Exempt Employees -
A California court of appeal recently confirmed that employers may require exempt employees to use accrued leave for partial-day absences, even if shorter than...more
8/15/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Retaliation