Zuniga v. Alexandria Care Ctr., LLC, 67 Cal. App. 5th 871 (2021)
Summary: An expert may rely on inadmissible evidence to form an opinion if the source is reliable.
Facts: Plaintiff Rosalinda Zuniga was employed by...more
Levanoff v. Dragas, Nos. G058480, G058709, 2021 WL 2621360 (Cal. Ct. App. June 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employer did not violate California law by selecting a method of calculating the regular rate of pay that most benefitted...more
On May 28, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed Walmart a groundbreaking win in a wage-and-hour class and California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA") action. Reversing a nearly $102 million...more
On May 18, 2021, Santa Clara County updated its Order of the Health Officer and FAQs to require, effective June 1, 2021, that employers determine the vaccination status of all “personnel.” One simple way for businesses to...more
California Trucking Association v. Bonta, No. 20-55106, 2021 WL 1656283 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021) -
Summary : The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt the “ABC test” for determining whether a...more
5/12/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
More than a year after COVID-19 was deemed a pandemic, employers are transitioning greater numbers of employees back to the workplace. As organizations return their workforce to the office, it is important to have the right...more
4/30/2021
/ Business Travel ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Social Distancing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
On April 16, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 93 into law. The bill requires employers in specified hospitality and business services-related industries to offer to rehire certain workers who were laid off during the...more
On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 95, thereby expanding California’s COVID supplemental paid sick leave provisions (“COVID leave”)....more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“Rescue Plan”) into law—a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. Here are five things every employer should know about the bill....more
Donohue v. AMN Services., LLC, No. S253677, 2021 WL 728871 (Cal. Feb. 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context.
Time records that show...more
This year has been fraught with disruption. To make things easier, Payne & Fears is offering one full day of seminars on pressing employment law topics. Attendees can join from the comfort of their homes or offices. Attend...more
9/24/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Layoffs ,
Misclassification ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars
On September 17, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills (SB 1159, AB 685, and SB 1383) expanding workers’ protections in relation to COVID-19 exposure in the workplace, and expanding the California Family Rights Act....more
9/23/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Employees ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
The majority of the employment-related bills that Governor Newsom will sign this year will not take effect until January 2021 or later. But Governor Newsom signed two significant, employment-related “trailer bills” this week...more
On August 31, 2020, California’s legislative session closed with a flurry of bills—the majority driven by COVID-19. These bills have been sent to the governor, who now has until the end of September to sign them into law or...more
9/18/2020
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Workers ,
Layoffs ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pending Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
State of Emergency ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
New legislation enacted. New guidance constantly being released. It’s hard to keep track of how much you now must pay your employees. Payne & Fears has made the process easy with this “cheat sheet.”...more
OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, 8 Cal. 5th 111, 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 714 (2019) -
Summary: Mandatory arbitration agreement may be unenforceable against employee wage claims if agreement requires employee to forego Labor Commissioner...more
11/18/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Berman Hearings ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Reversal ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vacated ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Wage and Hour
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”), controversial legislation which will have a substantial impact on California employers when it goes into effect on January 1, 2020. ...more
9/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The last few years have brought an increasing number of class action lawsuits filed against employers alleging non-compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). As part of an evolving trend of narrowly interpreting...more
On September 14, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board released a draft rule that would reverse the NLRB’s 2015 decision in Browning-Ferris, 362 NLRB No. 186 (2015). ...more
This month’s key California employment law cases are from the California Supreme Court and from the California Court of Appeal.
Janus v. American Fed’n of State, County, and Mun. Employees, Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448...more
7/23/2018
/ Addendums ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Compromise & Release ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
Fair Share Law ,
First Amendment ,
Harassment ,
Hospitals ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Non-Union ,
Public Employees ,
Release of Claims ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Timekeeping ,
Union Dues ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
The California Supreme Court's decision in Dynamex v. Superior Court signals a sharp turn away from the standard that has been applied for decades in determining whether a worker is correctly classified as an independent...more
The California Supreme Court has taken a significant step away from the long-used multifactor test to determine whether individual workers are employees or independent contractors, and toward a test that presumes workers in...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Burden of Proof ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
This one-hour session, geared toward human resources professionals and in-house attorneys, will cover legal changes impacting California employers, including a discussion of new laws, enforcement trends, and "hot topics" in...more
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Under current law, employers with 50 or more employees must provide at least two hours of prescribed training and...more