Starting September 3, 2024, employers must comply with involved new requirements if they wish to consider criminal backgrounds in making hiring or promotional decisions for positions that will perform work in any...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
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
Effective New Year’s Day 2024, the minimum wage employers of all sizes must pay California employees will increase from $15.50 per hour to $16.00 per hour. The minimum salary for exempt status will increase at the same time...more
Portions of employer liability in California PAGA actions are dischargeable in bankruptcy under a bankruptcy court decision issued this summer. Specifically, employers’ liability for the 25% share of PAGA penalties to be...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
Hand-signed arbitration agreements will be easier for employers to enforce in light of a recent California Court of Appeal ruling. Declarations from former employees claiming they “do not recall” having signed their...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
At the start of each year, we kick off H-1B Cap Season by working with U.S. employers to prepare for registration in the upcoming H-1B Cap Lottery. U.S. employers interested in sponsoring foreign nationals for specialty...more
New COVID-19 prevention regulations for California workplaces will become effective no later than January 14, 2023. The new COVID-19 Non-Emergency Prevention Standards contain significant changes as compared to the current...more
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
Bills of importance to California employers were passed by the California Legislature in the final days of the 2022 session, which ended yesterday. Governor Gavin Newsom has until September 30, 2022, to sign or veto...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
A party claiming that its opponent waived their right to compel arbitration by participating in litigation cannot be required to show prejudice, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 23, 2022 in a unanimous opinion written by...more
The COVID-19 rules for California workplaces have changed once again, statewide. Now in effect, the newest version of Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) make changes of importance to all employers,...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
By a hard-hitting 6-3 majority last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court barred the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from implementing or enforcing its new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). ...more
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