A new California law concerning employee noncompete agreements and clauses went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, and requires affected employers to take action by Feb. 14, 2024.
The new law, codified at Business & Professions...more
The California Supreme Court published its decision in Gustavo Naranjo et al., v. Spectrum Security Services holding that employers who fail to pay for meal or rest break premiums, may also be responsible for waiting time and...more
Once in a while, the California Supreme Court makes a ruling which declares unlawful an employment practice previously perceived as lawful. Today, the California Supreme Court in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC held that...more
On January 1, 2020, California businesses faced several new laws that may significantly impact business operations, including AB 5 (codifying the “ABC” test) and AB 51 (restricting the use of mandatory arbitration). On the...more
1/20/2020
/ Business Partners ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Established Business Relationship ,
Franchises ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Liability ,
New Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Retaliation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
We previously highlighted Assembly Bill 51, which prohibits employers from requiring employees or applicants for employment to “waive any right, forum, or procedure for a violation” of the Fair Employment and Housing Act or...more
1/2/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Restraining Orders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
Concluding that TWC Dealer Group, Inc.’s arbitration agreements were both procedurally and substantively unconscionable, California’s First Appellate District’s recent decision highlights certain contractual terms and...more
Last in our series of California’s legislative updates is a summary of bills aimed at sexual harassment in the janitorial and construction industries...more
11/6/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Construction Workers ,
Corporate Culture ,
DLSE ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Janitorial Services ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees
Today our employer focused legislative update zeroes in on “no rehire” provisions in settlement agreements, expansion of benefits to employees who donate organs, and care for a family member...more
10/31/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Hires ,
New Legislation ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
Organ Donation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave
Continuing with our legislative update, today we will offer insights into new bills expanding the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) authority and the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s (FEHA) protected...more
10/25/2019
/ Cause of Action Accrual ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
California’s 2019 legislative session recently ended, leaving employers with a number of new laws requiring compliance starting January 1, 2020. To assist employers, we are publishing a series of blogs, each dedicated to a...more
In our previous blog we wrote about California’s Assembly Bill 51, which largely impacts arbitration agreements by prohibiting employers from requiring employees or applicants for employment to agree to arbitrate claims for...more
10/21/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed groundbreaking legislation largely impacting mandatory arbitration agreements (Assembly Bill 51) and extending the deadline to file a harassment complaint from one to three years...more
10/16/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
Last year (April 2018) the California Supreme Court rocked the boat with the seminal Dynamex decision, which created very high barriers for companies who utilize independent contractors. On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin...more
9/23/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Arbitration is a highly controversial topic in California.
Just last year 20,000 Google employees walked off the job in protest of Google’s policy to arbitrate workplace misconduct claims. A few weeks ago more than 200...more
7/12/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Regulations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The 2017-2018 legislative session concluded last month with new laws effecting almost all employers in California. Here’s a summary of the new laws, as well as the bills that would have had a significant impact, but were...more
10/12/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Breastfeeding ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strict Compliance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights
Senate Bill 970 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and applies exclusively to all hotels and motels with employees in California....more
10/2/2018
/ Child Labor ,
Employee Training ,
Exploitation ,
Forced Labor ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Trafficking ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strict Compliance
In Dynamex, the California Supreme Court decided to adopt an “ABC” test to determine whether workers are properly classified as independent contractors. This raised a number of questions concerning how (or if) the test should...more
5/29/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Risk Assessment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour