Over the years, California’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) has provided a procedurally convenient means for employees to seek expansive penalties for employers’ alleged violations of California’s very technical...more
7/12/2024
/ California ,
Class Action ,
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
In 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or Board) continued to expand employee rights and protections in the workplace. The new regulations included limiting employers’ contract rights in relation to severance...more
3/6/2024
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
NRLA ,
OSHA ,
Race Discrimination ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc. on July 6, 2023, that California employers cannot be held liable by their workers’ household members when workers contract COVID-19 in the...more
2022 Proposed Rules and Legislation -
Joint Employer Status: Proposed Rulemaking -
On September 6, 2022, the Board released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish a new “joint employer” legal standard under the...more
2/15/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Immigrants ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Union Elections
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge struck down California’s board gender diversity statute on May 13, 2022. The court found that Senate Bill 826 violated the California Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause....more
6/22/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Gender Equity ,
State and Local Government ,
Woman Board Members
The Board’s composition changed significantly during 2021, switching from a Republican to a Democrat-appointed majority.
The five seats on the Board are traditionally filled by two Democrats, two Republicans, and a chairman...more
4/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Contractors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Independent Contractors ,
NCAA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Property Owners ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Update: The City of Los Angeles revised the Worker Protection Order on April 10, 2020, to provide that, in lieu of handwashing, employers can provide employees with access to hand sanitizer at least every 30 minutes....more
With the California legislative year now closed, we know which proposals became reality and offer insight into their likely impact on California employers in the coming year. The following update provides a brief overview of...more
11/6/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
With the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) set to take effect on January 1, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed amendments in October 2019 providing businesses some temporary shelter from the CCPA...more
11/4/2019
/ Amended Legislation ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Privacy Policy
On September 5, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court held that non-agricultural employees do not have to be paid a separate hourly rate for time spent on non-piece-rate activities. Further, workweek averaging, as described in...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom passed Senate Bill 188, known as the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (C.R.O.W.N.) Act, earlier this month which expanded existing anti-discrimination state law to...more
7/30/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws
Limits to Confidentiality of Sexual Harassment Claims in Settlement Agreements -
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Senate Bill No. 820, enacted as California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1001, which...more
The California Supreme Court issued an opinion on July 26, 2018, and found that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s de minimis doctrine does not apply to claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor Code. Federal...more
8/7/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Code ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Governor Jerry Brown has signed A.B. 1008 which amends the California Labor Code effective January 1, 2018, to prohibit employers from considering or inquiring about “an applicant’s conviction history,” “arrests not followed...more
11/16/2017
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Notice Requirements
Governor Jerry Brown signed S.B. 63 last month, which makes CFRA applicable to businesses with 20+ employees. Under the bill, the California Government Code will be amended as of January 1, 2018 to permit eligible employees...more