The California Court of Appeal has determined that a wrongful discharge claim cannot be based upon an alleged violation of a municipal ordinance. Bruni v. The Edward Thomas Hospitality Corporation....more
On May 18, 2021, Santa Clara County issued a new Order of the Health Officer (the “Order”) that took effect on May 19th. Of particular note, the Order imposes two new obligations: First, it mandates that employers require...more
Weeks after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) weighed in, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) recently released updated COVID-19 employment FAQs addressing the permissibility...more
3/19/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On Thursday, a unanimous California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, providing answers to two important questions about meal periods: (1) whether it is permissible to round meal...more
As recently reported by the Los Angeles Times, People, and a slew of other national and local media outlets, famed Beverly Hills restaurant, La Scala, recently faced significant public backlash after sending out invitations...more
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as “Cal/OSHA,” recently issued new emergency temporary standards to protect workers from COVID-19 (the “Emergency Temporary Standards”), which were...more
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partner Harris Mufson and associate Phil Lebel discuss recent legal developments in California, specifically a new supplemental paid sick leave law and coronavirus (COVID-19) exposure...more
10/9/2020
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Rules ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Podcasts ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Outbreaks
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the flurry of associated leave issues, Gov. Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 1383 (“SB 1383”) into law, which provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the California Family...more
On September 30, 2020, Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 979 (“AB 979”) into law. The new statute, which adds section 301.4 to the Corporations Code, is aimed at increasing representation from communities of color and the...more
Late last week, Gov. Newsom signed AB 685 into law which, among other things, adds section 6409.6 (“Section 6409.6”) to the Labor Code. The new statute, which takes effect January 1, 2021, requires that employers notify...more
On September 9, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1867 (“AB 1867”), which is intended to fill gaps left by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The new law requires that private employers with 500...more
Last week, Uber Technologies, Inc. and Lyft, Inc. announced that they would suspend ridesharing operations in the State of California in response to an August 10, 2020 San Francisco Superior Court judge’s preliminary...more
8/25/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Ridesharing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
For years, federal courts in California have been inundated with wage and hour class actions. Because these cases often clogged district court dockets for months (and, sometimes, even years) on end, the Central District of...more
7/28/2020
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court Schedules ,
Discovery ,
Employment Litigation ,
Excusable Neglect ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Furloughs ,
Local Rules ,
Scheduling Orders ,
Wage and Hour
Even after the Supreme Court’s favorable decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (“Epic”), California courts will not compel a PAGA claim to arbitration.
In Collie v. The Icee Co., a former employee of The Icee Company,...more
As we previously reported, last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s State Public Health Officer cleared the music, film and television industry to resume work no earlier than this Friday, June 12, 2020, subject to...more
California has long been considered one of the “capitals” of the fitness industry as it is home to thousands of gyms and boutique fitness studios. COVID-19 hit the state’s fitness industry particularly hard when...more
On Friday June 5, Gov. Newsom announced that California has authorized the music, film and television production industries to reopen on or after this coming Friday, June 12, 2020. The same day, Gov. Newsom announced the...more
As we discussed in a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter in April, the entertainment industry faces unique challenges as it plans to resume operations. On May 20, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that...more
6/4/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Film Industry ,
Music Industry ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
State of Emergency ,
Television ,
Workplace Safety
On May 6, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-62-20, which creates a time-limited rebuttable presumption that workers who are still reporting to their employer’s workplace and who test positive for COVID-19 are...more
Today, the Attorney General of California and the City Attorneys for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego filed a lawsuit against Uber and Lyft, alleging that the companies willfully misclassify their drivers. The suit...more
On March 27, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council approved a new ordinance that would have required Los Angeles employers to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental sick leave relating to COVID-19. The broadly-worded ordinance...more
As we previously reported, six Bay Area counties and the City of Berkeley previously issued expansive shelter-in-place orders requiring all but “Essential Businesses” to cease operations. Yesterday, all seven jurisdictions...more
Today, March 19, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20 requiring all individuals living in California to “stay home or at their place of residence except as necessary to maintain continuity of operations of...more
Today March 12, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Kim v. Reins Int’l Cal., Inc., holding that an employee’s settlement and dismissal of underlying Labor Code claims does not deprive the...more
As we reported yesterday, cities and counties across California are issuing orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. Since our last post, Orange County and the City of Palm Springs have joined the list....more