On April 21, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board (Board) met and formally adopted a third version of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) by a vote of 6-1.
The new ETS makes a number of changes to prior ETS...more
Following Governor Newsom’s announcement that California’s indoor mask mandate would end on February 15, 2022 for all vaccinated persons, the Los Angeles County Department today issued a statement clarifying when the county’s...more
Governor Newsom and the California Legislature have agreed to enact new legislation that will revive COVID-19 paid sick leave. The prior law created by Senate Bill 95, expired on September 30....more
On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (the Cal/OSHA Board) voted to approve a set of new modified COVID-19-related workplace emergency regulations. The new modified regulations will...more
6/18/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Governor Newsom ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Office of Administrative Law ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
Safety Precautions ,
State Health Departments ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 9, 2021, the California Department of Public Health announced a new face coverings guidance that will go into effect statewide on June 15, 2021. In addition, Governor Newsom’s office announced that on June 15, 2021,...more
Governor Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 93, a state-wide right of recall, intended to assist California workers in sectors that have been especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new law, which is similar to...more
4/23/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
DLSE ,
Employee Retention ,
Enforcement ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Janitorial Services ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Right of Recall ,
State Labor Laws
On March 19, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 95 providing a new form of COVID-19 related paid sick leave for many California workers. The law will become effective on March 29, 2021, and applies...more
3/24/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Retroactive Application ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Supplemental Benefits ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
As reported here, on March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 95. This new law requires all California employers (including those with collective bargaining agreements) with 25 or more employees to...more
A lawsuit has been filed against Cal/OSHA regarding its recently instituted regulations requiring employers to adopt numerous COVID-19 measures. In addition, a separate suit was filed against Governor Newsom for the outdoor...more
On November 16, 2020, California officials pulled an “emergency brake” and announced that the state would be rolling back reopenings in 28 counties across the state. These changes will go into effect on Tuesday, November 17. ...more
Assembly Bill 1281 extends to January 1, 2022, the exemption for employee personal information from most requirements of California’s Consumer Privacy Act. Under last year’s AB 25, this exemption was set to expire on January...more
Despite significant pressure from labor groups and others, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 3216 yesterday. If it had been signed, AB 3216 would have created a right of recall for laid-off employees of hotels and...more
As promised, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2257 which effectively rewrites Assembly Bill 5, the flawed law which sought to codify and clarify the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v....more
Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1159, a law that effectively codifies and expands his earlier Executive Order N-62-20, which had expired on July 5, 2020. Effective immediately, this bill defines “injury” for an...more
On September 17, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-685, which creates new COVID-19 reporting requirements for employers, increases mandatory public disclosure of COVID-19 outbreaks, and expands the powers of...more
On July 13, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a significant rollback of California’s reopening and ordered 30 of the most populous counties in the state to cease indoor operations. The order includes closing indoor...more
On July 13, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that restaurants across the state must cease indoor operations. All bars, both indoor and outdoor, are ordered to close statewide....more
In his press conference on July 1, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered restaurants in Los Angeles County and 18 other CA counties to cease indoor dining operations for at least the next 3 weeks. The order was in response to a...more
On Monday, May 18, 2020, Governor Gavin Newson announced relaxed state guidelines for Phase 2 reopening of dine-in restaurants, offices, outdoor museums, shopping centers and malls. The relaxed guidelines would permit 53 of...more
This week Governor Newsom announced new guidelines for the Phase 2 reopening of dine-in restaurants, offices, outdoor museums, shopping centers and malls. The date for reopening of these establishments will be determined by...more
To address fears that food sector workers are more likely to work when sick, Governor Gavin Newsom recently issued Executive Order N-51-20, which requires large food sector employers (500+ employees in U.S.) to provide up to...more
There is a fair amount of confusion among California businesses regarding Governor Newsom’s “stay home” order and which facilities should remain open. Unfortunately, Executive Order N-33-20 does not provide much guidance....more
In an effort to address some of the issues presented by California’s WARN Act in connection with the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Newsom has issued Executive Order N-31-20 partially suspending certain provisions of Cal-WARN. As...more
3/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
WARN Act
Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill 51 will prohibit employers from requiring employees to waive forum or procedure rights under the Fair Employment and Housing Act or the Labor Code in favor of arbitration as a...more
On September 18, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5, thereby establishing a law that purports to prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors and provide “basic rights and protections they...more
9/20/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour