On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard oral argument in the most significant False Claims Act (FCA) case to reach the Court in recent years. The Court is examining the scienter requirement in the FCA –...more
California has long required employers to pay employees a wage premium that is the equivalent to one hour of regular pay if they are not provided a compliant meal or rest break. This single issue is the subject of countless...more
Los Angeles County health officials announced Thursday that they would be re-implementing a countywide face covering mandate requiring all persons regardless of vaccination status to don face coverings while indoors starting...more
The state of California, after a series of recommendations that were made and then withdrawn, has finally settled on new workplace safety guidance. The Cal-OSHA Advisory Board approved the updated workplace COVID-19...more
Hollywood got the greenlight to resume film and television productions from Los Angeles County Public Health officials last week. But art – like life – in a COVID-19 world could look very different under the detailed new...more
The CDC recently released new guidance on considerations for events and gatherings. The scope of the guidance is broad, covering any planned or spontaneous event, even those with only small numbers of people. ...more
Last week, the EEOC updated its Q&As for “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws”. Here are some highlights...more
The Los Angeles City Council adopted two ordinances on April 29 that will significantly limit changes that operators of hotels, entertainment and sports venues, and some commercial buildings will be permitted to make when...more
California food sector workers now have the right to additional paid sick leave, even if they work for large employers exempted from the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). And they are also entitled to...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) imposes new requirements – and offers off-setting tax credits – for employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid leave for COVID-19-related reasons....more
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law a massive two trillion dollar stimulus bill addressing a wide range of challenges to our economy caused by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. ...more
4/6/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Furloughs ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour
On March 11, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) (along with the White House Coronavirus Task Force) issued guidance for the next thirty (30) days for Santa Clara County, CA, and Seattle-King, Pierce,...more
3/12/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Examinations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Screening Procedures ,
Workplace Safety
With the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rising in California, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Employment Development Department (EDD) have issued guidance and reminders on...more
3/11/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Department of Industrial Relations ,
EDD ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Guidance ,
OLSE ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled that salary history is no defense to a claim of sex discrimination under the federal Equal Pay Act, effectively expanding from the West Coast to the entire circuit a ban on a previously common...more
3/5/2020
/ Appeals ,
Deceased ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Judge Reinhardt ,
Judicial Review ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Reversal ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Yovino v Rizo
The filing of class actions against California employers for meal and rest break violations remain as prevalent as ever, but the California Courts of Appeal have recently issued two rulings that may help employer-defendants....more
12/3/2019
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Class Action ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure To Pay ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Penalties ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
The legal community paid close attention to the California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex decision which adopted a strict test to curtail misclassification of workers as independent contractors. Now that the California...more
10/16/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Following in the wake of the #MeToo movement, two new bills adopted by the California Legislature will expand the temporal scope of state-law harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and sexual assault claims. ...more
10/4/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that attempts to settle some of the ambiguity that remained surrounding the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex and its “ABC Test.”...more
9/28/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Borello Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a court cannot force class arbitration unless both the employer and the employee clearly agreed to class arbitration. In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela...more
4/26/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
Two California Courts of Appeal came to two different conclusions on motions to compel arbitration on the same day last week (April 10), again demonstrating the care that must be taken in drafting and presenting arbitration...more
California is the birthplace of many of the best-known apps credited – or blamed, depending on your point of view – with fueling the gig economy. But the California Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 30, 2018 that will...more
5/7/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour