Seyfarth Synopsis: The Legislature concluded its 2023-24 session in the wee hours of its August 31, 2024, deadline to pass bills. Now it’s up to Governor Newsom to call the plays as to what employment bills he will sign into...more
9/13/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The decline in ADA Title III lawsuits that began in 2022 comes to a halt in 2024 and California retakes its mantle of “national filing hotspot.”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 2,794 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2023 – a 14% decrease from 2022....more
6/14/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: DOJ issues useful new Guide to help small governmental entities understand the new web and mobile app accessibility requirements under Title II of the ADA....more
5/24/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Small Entity Compliance Guide ,
State and Local Government ,
Title II ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: New regulations effective August 6, 2024 restore and expand scope of civil rights protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act....more
5/15/2024
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
LGBTQ ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCR
A Puerto Rico federal court holding reminds us that an animal that performs work or tasks for a person with a psychiatric disability – such as identifying the onset of a panic attack and taking action to mitigate its effect –...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Ninth Circuit paves the way for nationwide class action concerning the accessibility of healthcare check-in kiosks for individuals who are blind....more
2/26/2024
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Equal Access ,
Healthcare ,
Patient Access ,
Public Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act
Seyfarth Synopsis: In 2023, the number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court declined but still exceeded 8,200 for a second year in a row....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent guidance from the EEOC on federal agencies’ disability accommodation obligations contain insights for private employers as well....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Prepare for new California workplace legal requirements effective January 1, 2024, now. Seyfarth has you covered with all the ways to protect your workplace just like Kevin McCallister defends his house....more
12/18/2023
/ California ,
DLSE ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals approved state-owned hospital’s exclusion of nursing student’s service animal that posed a direct threat to patients and staff with severe allergies where no reasonable...more
12/5/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Students ,
Patients ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Service Animals ,
Title II
Seyfarth Synopsis: Among new workplace legal requirements effective January 1, 2024, making employers green in the face with end of the year preparations are necessary revisions to Wage Theft Notices. They must be ready for...more
12/1/2023
/ California ,
DLSE ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
Seyfarth Synopsis: While Governor Newsom vetoed several impactful bills prior to his October 14, 2023, signing deadline, he approved a wide array of new laws with which businesses will need to comply with in 2024 and beyond,...more
10/18/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Health Care Providers ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: California has increased the minimum wage of fast food workers to $20, and authorized the creation of the Fast Food Council comprised of representatives from labor and management to set minimum standards...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Now that the Legislature’s September 14, 2023 deadline to pass bills to the Governor has come and gone, we are providing an overview of which employment bills are before the Governor for consideration,...more
9/19/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Cal-WARN ,
California ,
Civil Code ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: AB 1757, which would set a standard for website accessibility for businesses in California, has been held in the Legislature to resume discussion in 2024....more
9/12/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disabled Persons Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility
Seyfarth Synopsis: The decline in ADA Title III lawsuits that began in 2022 continues in 2023. New York remains the filing hotspot....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of Justice (DOJ) issues proposed website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II of the ADA....more
8/7/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Information Technology ,
NPRM ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title II ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: AB 1757 would adopt WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the de facto standard for websites and mobile apps that can be accessed from California and impose liability for statutory damages on business establishments and...more
6/22/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disabled Persons Act ,
Mobile Apps ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility
Seyfarth Synopsis: When the Legislature reconvenes from Spring Break on April 10, 2023, it will resume consideration of the employment bills that were among the 2,600 introduced. Notable employment bills include those...more
4/13/2023
/ Criminal Records ,
Fair Chance Act ,
FEHA ,
Layoff Notices ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court dropped by 24 percent, the lowest since 2017, and California is no longer the center of the ADA Title III universe....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 19, 2023, California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) released FAQs regarding the recently amended California Pay Data Reporting Law covering the 2022 reporting period. We previously summarized SB...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 3,225 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2022 – a 12% increase over 2021....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As we blogged about previously, California passed a landmark pay transparency law in September 2022. As promised, the Labor Commissioner’s office has issued FAQs addressing big employer questions regarding...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Taking it down to the wire, Governor Newsom approved the vast majority of labor and employment bills that ran the legislative gauntlet, including bills that will expand pay data reporting and pay scale...more
10/4/2022
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
Marijuana ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour