On November 4, 2021, OSHA issued its hotly anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination and testing programs. Stopping short of a full mandate, the ETS...more
The EEOC’s expanded technical assistance now addresses employers’ obligations to respond to and navigate vaccine-related religious accommodation requests pursuant to Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which...more
10/28/2021
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Last month, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled that certain portions of California’s Assembly Bill 51 (2019) were not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and held that employers are prohibited from requiring...more
10/28/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws
On September 15, 2021, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled that certain portions of California’s Assembly Bill 51 (2019) were not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), raising questions as to whether many employers’...more
OSHA to Issue Rules Requiring Employers With 100+ Employees to Ensure That Their Workers Are Vaccinated or Tested Weekly On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced a new COVID-19 plan, aimed to control the spread of the...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Wesson v. Staples, Inc., holding that (1) courts have inherent authority to ensure that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be fairly and...more
9/13/2021
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Judicial Authority ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Staples ,
Wage and Hour
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, holding that (1) employers cannot round time punches in the meal period context, and (2) time records showing noncompliant...more
On Sunday, December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the latest round of COVID-19 legislation, the 5,500-page Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act). The Act, which was passed by Congress on December 21, updates the...more
New Order Reinstates Restrictions on Business, Travel and Other Nonessential Activities -
On Thursday, December 3, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the release of a new regional Stay-at-Home Order in...more
On Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, the Department of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) voted unanimously to move forward with a set of new regulations that heighten workplace safety...more
On September 9, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 1867 which is effective immediately and codifies Executive Order N-51-20 related to sick leave for food sector workers, and establishes supplemental paid sick leave for...more
On the last day of the two-year legislative session, Monday, August 31, 2020, the California legislature passed several sweeping pieces of legislation, which Governor Newsom is expected to sign within the next month. Although...more
On Monday, August 3, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom released the Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening to help employers “plan and prepare for reopening” businesses.
The Playbook provides information on how the Newsom...more
Last week, just before adjourning for a COVID-19-shortened summer recess, the California State Senate passed a measure that, if it becomes law, would significantly expand the availability of unpaid family leave in the state....more
To support our clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, we provide below links to the Governor’s Executive Orders and California County directives and mandates. Given the rapidly changing environment, we will update this page...more
In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, a landmark 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled today that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Manatt’s Employment and Labor team has created a two-part webinar series to guide employers through some of the key considerations for preparing to return their employees to work and recommendations on how companies can...more
5/18/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Webinars
To support our clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, we provide below links to the Governor’s Executive Orders and California County directives and mandates. Given the rapidly changing environment, we will update this page...more
AB 51 was signed into law on October 10, 2019, and purported to outlaw the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in employment claims related to the Fair Employment and Housing Act or the Labor Code. You can read our...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation that prohibits “no rehire” clauses in settlement agreements effective January 1, 2020.
The new law will change a standard practice in California of including blanket...more
On October 10, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 51. While styled as a bill pertaining to enforcement of employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the bill sweeps far more...more
Will Single-Use Products and Packaging Be a Thing of the Past in California? -
Walk down virtually any street, sidewalk, path, beach or trail in California and you will invariably find at least some single-use product or...more
6/13/2019
/ Arbitration ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Made in the USA ,
Opt-Outs ,
Popular ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS ,
Single-Use/No Resale Restriction
The Supreme Court, in a sharply-divided 5-4 ruling issued on April 24, ruled that nothing in the Federal Arbitration Act allows courts to compel class action arbitration even if the contract is ambiguous in that regard, and...more
On May 21, 2018, in a significant decision for employers nationwide, a divided United States Supreme Court held in a trio of cases that employers may require employees—as a condition of employment—to enter into arbitration...more
California Makes Seismic Shift With New ‘ABC’ Independent Contractor Test -
The Dynamex Ruling -
In a landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (Charles Lee), the California...more