The recent wildfires in Los Angeles have significantly impacted businesses and their employees – employers should be aware of their responsibilities to support their workforce during this challenging time. ...more
1/16/2025
/ California ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Policies ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Risk Management ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Departing from the ruling in Soltero v. Precise Distribution earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal in the Second District in Gonzalez v. Nowhere Beverly Hills LLC, created a split of authority regarding an alleged...more
12/11/2024
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Signatories ,
Wage and Hour
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal held that time spent logging in to start employees’ shifts should be compensable....more
The Sixth District California Court of Appeal held that despite evidence of neutrality of a rounding policy, the employer did not meet its burden of proof to show employees were properly compensated for all hours worked....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
If you are an employer in California, you are probably familiar with the various employment peculiarities in the state, such as the five-hour meal rule, four-hour (or major fraction) rest rule, piece rate rules, wage...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
The threat of statutory attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a wage and hour lawsuit is often leveraged to force settlements from employer defendants. In a welcomed ruling for employers, a California Court of Appeal...more
1. Can I ask employees to leave the workplace and stay home if I suspect they have COVID-19?
If an employee is exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19 (i.e., cough, shortness of breath, fever) you may ask the employee to...more
With the number of Coronavirus cases increasing daily, many employers wonder what steps can and should be taken to protect their employees and customers, while still complying with California and Federal labor laws. Based on...more
3/10/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
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 ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
In a win for franchisors, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of fast-food behemoth McDonald’s Corp., ruling that the franchisor is not a joint employer of its franchisees’...more
10/11/2019
/ Class Action ,
Common Law Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
McDonalds ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
Any employer that has faced a wage & hour lawsuit in California knows that minor violations can quickly add up to significant liabilities....more
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
The discourse around equal pay has reverberated through the media and made its way to a new federal regulation that seeks to identify and address instances in which persons of different sex, race, and ethnicity earn different...more
The analysis of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of California’s Wage Orders became more restrictive in 2018 following the California Supreme Court’s adoption of the “ABC” test in the...more
6/6/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
DLSE ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
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
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
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court handed down a ruling that may significantly impact the decision on classifying workers as “employees” or “independent contractors.” ...more
There have been significant changes to state and federal laws in 2016 affecting employers of all sizes and in many industries. We'd like to help our clients stay apprised of some of the more critical changes by reminding all...more
12/21/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Arbitration ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Equal Pay ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Janitorial Services ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Records ,
Popular ,
Private Schools ,
Required Forms ,
Sick Leave ,
Teachers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wages ,
White-Collar Exemptions