On June 3, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board approved new modified COVID-19-related emergency regulations. The new modified regulations, which are found here, will need to be approved by the...more
The United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) recently upheld California’s CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (CalSavers), which provides retirement savings accounts to employees without employer retirement benefit...more
California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has updated its COVID-19 vaccination guidance, replacing its prior guidance issued July 24, 2020. The DFEH’s updated guidance permits employers to require...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
The CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (CalSavers) was established to assist the estimated 7.5 million California employees without employer retirement savings plans. Mandatory compliance is phased-in over time and depends...more
Effective January 1, 2021, the California Department of Industrial Relations issued a new compensation threshold for exempt computer software employees, reflecting an increase of 2% from last year. To qualify for the overtime...more
The 2021 mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes have decreased from last year, or remained unchanged. Specifically, as of January...more
On January 1, 2021, the California minimum wage increased to $14.00 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees and $13.00 per hour for smaller employers. The state minimum wage also governs the exempt employee...more
Effective beginning December 31, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published a Mandatory Directive on Travel (Appendix W) and issued a Revised Temporary Order, both of which require a mandatory...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
Judge James Chalfant has issued a preliminary injunction against Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining ban on the basis that the county acted arbitrarily and failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis. The case was...more
On November 30, 2020, Cal-OSHA’s proposed temporary COVID-19-related emergency regulations became effective. The new regulations, which are found here, will remain in effect for 180 days, unless they are adopted for a longer...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
On Wednesday, October 22, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded the definition of a “close contact” with a COVID-19 infected person to include brief interactions over a 24-hour period. This...more
Within hours, the sad story of Jeffrey Toobin became common knowledge. For those of you just emerging from a yoga retreat or a Dodgers-only-World-Series media frenzy, Jeffrey Toobin is (or was, as it remains to be seen what...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
Effective January 1, 2021, Senate Bill 1383 will significantly expand the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to cover employers with at least 5 employees. Previously, CFRA leave was required only of employers with at least...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
When considering an employee layoff or business shutdown, as we reported here, employers should keep in mind that longer layoffs in California will trigger Cal-WARN Act rules. Unlike its federal counterpart, California’s WARN...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
By January 1, 2021, all California employers with five or more employees are required to have provided interactive harassment prevention training to all employees in California, both supervisory and...more