The allure of doing business in California is undeniable. It is the world’s fifth largest economy (moving toward fourth) and a market of more than 39 million people. For employers, however, California presents unique...more
2/12/2024
/ Bereavement Leave ,
California ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Fair Workweek ,
FEHA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
California has no love for employers this Valentine’s Day. The deadline for employers to give their California employees who signed unlawful noncompetes written notice that the agreements or provisions are “void” is February...more
Parties in California state court employment lawsuits and other actions may now deploy a potent new discovery tool. New demands for disclosure may be used in employment litigation and other lawsuits, with exceptions, filed in...more
Beginning New Year’s Day 2024, employers are required to give all non-exempt new hires working in California a new form of Wage Theft Prevention Act Notice containing new information. Employers must tell employees in the new...more
No later than July 1, 2024, covered California employers must implement extensive workplace violence prevention plans (WVPP) and deliver specified training to employees under new legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on...more
Employers who sign employees up to noncompetition agreements or other restrictive covenants or seek to enforce the agreements — even when employees enter into the agreements outside California in a state where the...more
This post is part of Experience Matters, a series drawing on my 30+ years of defending employers in California employment litigation. The series highlights actions you can take to reduce risk – and worry less – as you manage...more
Another wave of minimum wage increases will roll through in about two weeks. On July 1, the minimum wage rates that must be paid in cities and counties across California will rise. The local minimum wage increases going...more
The allure of doing business in California is undeniable. It is the world’s fifth largest economy (moving toward fourth) and a market of more than 39 million people. For employers, however, California presents unique...more
1/20/2023
/ Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bereavement Leave ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Fair Workweek ,
FEHA ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
Three bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last week once again modify employers’ obligations to California employees who are exposed to or contract COVID-19. The most important aspects of this round of mutations in...more
Starting January 1, 2023, California employers will be required to include in job postings the pay range for the position and to disclose to current employees on their request the pay range for the position they hold. Senate...more
Any one of three bills still advancing through the California Legislature’s 2022 session will have broad consequences for California employers if enacted. The Legislature has until August 31 to pass pending bills and send...more
In a much-needed win for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that waivers of employees’ individual claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) are enforceable. The court’s decision in Viking...more
Getting ready to return to the office in California and need a refresher on what makes California law “special”?
Have plans to open an office/location somewhere in California and want to understand what laws apply and how...more
3/14/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Discrimination ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reimbursements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Workplace Safety
As of New Year’s Day, the minimum wage employers must pay California employees once again jumps up, with ramifications beyond simply paying at least the new minimum rate.
The New Minimum Wage Figures-
As of January 1,...more
Employers in the hotel, event center, airport and private club sectors and those providing services to commercial buildings must now give employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic preferential recall rights...more
4/20/2021
/ Airports ,
Business Interruption ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DLSE ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Layoffs ,
Right of Recall ,
State Labor Laws
Starting Monday, grocery stores, drug stores and big box retailers in the City of Los Angeles will be required to pay “Premium Hazard Pay” – an additional $5.00 per hour — to non-exempt employees. The ordinance mandating the...more
3/8/2021
/ California ,
Civil Liability ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Premium Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour
The deadline for employers to file their first annual pay data report with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) – March 31 — is fast approaching. For employers scrambling to comply, a reprieve is...more
As the sun rises on New Year’s Day 2021, California employment law will once again become more involved and challenging. For many employers, the following are the top five developments they most need to prepare for...more
How employers will need to defend California employment lawsuits, Labor Commissioner actions and even arbitrations must evolve come the New Year due to changes in the law that become effective January 1, 2021. In this post, I...more
10/29/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Attorney's Fees ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
California employers with 100 or more employees are now required to file with the state detailed annual reports setting out demographic, pay and position information on their employees. As for the purpose of requiring the...more
10/6/2020
/ California ,
DFEH ,
DLSE ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Pay Data ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
Effective January 1, 2021, California employers must report to their workforces instances in which employees may have been exposed to COVID-19 and to local public health departments any “outbreak” of three or more employees...more
Small employers in California – those with only five employees or more – will be obligated to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of family care and medical leave each 12 months under a bill Governor Gavin Newsom signed...more
In meaningful numbers, employers across the U.S. who are rebuilding their workforces are being sued by employees not recalled from COVID furloughs and applicants not hired. Last week, I posted an Alert describing the risks to...more
Effective July 1, the minimum wage jumps up yet again in localities throughout California. The minimum wage hikes come in the midst of a pandemic and one of the most difficult economic periods in decades when many employers...more