The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) on October 13, 2022, that proposes guidance on determining employee or independent contractor classification under the Fair...more
President Biden signed H.R. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the Act), into law on March 3, 2022. Effective immediately, the Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to...more
3/9/2022
/ Amended Legislation ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring all employers with a total of 100 or more employees to mandate...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding a brand-new section addressing religious objections to COVID-19 vaccine...more
11/2/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
With the 2021 California legislative year closed, it is now time to examine the new legislation that will affect California companies. We have summarized the key new legislation below, with relevant action items noted....more
10/26/2021
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tips ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Warehouses ,
Workplace Safety
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law California Senate Bill 331 (SB‑331) titled the “Silenced No More Act.” SB‑331 expands two of California’s existing laws regarding employee settlement agreements and...more
With the surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, many employers are considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated, how to encourage employee vaccinations, and the implications of vaccine policies for...more
9/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced in May 2021 that it was withdrawing the rule called “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” As anticipated, the Biden administration rescinded this Trump-era...more
5/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Revocation ,
Trump Administration
With multiple states rolling out phased access to COVID-19 vaccines, many employers are considering whether they want to require employees to be vaccinated, how to encourage employee vaccinations, and the implications of...more
2/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reimbursements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. The decision holds that the ABC test used to determine independent contractor versus employee status for purposes of...more
1/21/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employee ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated final rule codifying its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule comes in...more
A COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use has arrived in the United States and is being widely distributed to select groups as we issue this update. It is more than likely...more
12/17/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
FDA Approval ,
Health and Safety ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Prior to January 1, 2021, all employers with five or more employees in California must provide one hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to nonsupervisory employees and two hours of sexual...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an opinion letter, FLSA 2020-16, considering whether the travel time of foremen and laborers is compensable in three different scenarios. The DOL makes clear that, for some...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published an opinion letter explaining compensability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of time spent in voluntary continuing education programs. In FLSA 2020-15, the DOL...more
11/19/2020
/ Compensation ,
Continuing Education ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Opinion Letter ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will see significant changes under a Biden administration. However, the nature and the degree of those changes will depend heavily on how Biden fills senior roles not only at DOL but also in...more
11/13/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
OLMS ,
OSHA ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Trump Administration
On Election Day 2020, California voters approved Proposition 22 which allows some gig economy companies to continue to classify drivers as independent contractors. These app-based drivers also will be guaranteed minimum...more
California’s legislative session closed with the state Assembly and Senate signing nearly 40 bills related to employment. Below we summarize the key legislation Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately signed into law, including...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on September 22, 2020, seeking to codify the independent contractor/employee worker classifications into the Fair Labor Standards Act’s...more
9/28/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1383 which expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) on September 17, 2020. Previously, the CFRA applied to companies with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius and generally...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule revising the joint employer regulations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect on March 16, 2020, (Final Rule). On September 8, 2020, the Hon. Gregory H....more
9/15/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Records ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
The “ABC test” now used in California to make determinations regarding the validity of independent contractor classifications initially was adopted by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court, 4...more
9/14/2020
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Exemptions ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently issued four opinion letters addressing various exemption and compensation requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including standards for...more
In June 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) revised the optional-use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms available for employers to provide required notice to employees and for employees to provide certification of...more
The City of Los Angeles adopted and Mayor Eric Garcetti approved two new ordinances on April 27, 2020: the COVID-19 Right of Recall Ordinance and COVID-19 Worker Retention Ordinance.
The COVID-19 Right of Recall Ordinance...more