SB 294 requires employers to provide a new notice of worker rights to employees upon hire and annually thereafter, beginning February 1, 2026....more
1/12/2026
/ California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workers’ Compensation
California Assembly Bill 692 generally prohibits most “stay or pay” requirements that are commonly included in starting bonus programs, unless they comply with new requirements....more
12/15/2025
/ Bonuses ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Recruitment Policies ,
State Labor Laws
During its 2025 legislative session, California enacted several new employment laws, most of which take effect on January 1, 2026 (unless otherwise indicated). ...more
11/25/2025
/ Bias ,
Cal-WARN ,
California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Pay ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On July 1, 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills that significantly reform the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA). California employers will soon benefit from a myriad of reforms...more
In recent years, we have seen numerous notable employment and labor law developments annually, and 2023 was no exception. As the year comes to a close, US employers should take time to prepare for 2024 by reviewing their key...more
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) returned to long-standing precedent that an employer may not offer severance conditioned on an employee’s agreement to broad nondisparagement and confidentiality...more
US District Judge Patti B. Saris of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently held that stock options will suffice as “mutually agreed upon consideration” and “fair and reasonable consideration” under...more
Background Washington state’s Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1795, also known as the Silenced No More Act, took effect June 9, 2022, and prohibits nondisclosure and nondisparagement provisions that prevent an employee or...more
On January 13, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Safety and Health Codes Board voted to enact a permanent workplace safety rule to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure, making Virginia one of the first...more
With legislative activity around COVID-19 is continuing at a steady pace, it is easy to lose track of the myriad requirements applicable to employers, especially those requirements applicable to employees reporting into a...more
In response to unprecedented unemployment levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ordinance on June 23, 2020, that imposes rehiring, notice and reporting obligations...more
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States "at last" issued a 6-3 decision in which it "did not hesitate" to extend protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to gay and transgender workers....more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
As mentioned in previous Cooley alerts, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide emergency paid sick leave to eligible employees. San Jose...more
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the uncertainty over its scope and lasting impact on the economy, companies are now considering options to ensure continued viability of their business, including labor...more
On May 3, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it would collect employee pay data from EEO-1 employers beginning this summer. The announcement came after Judge Tanya Chutkan overturned the stay on...more
As a sizable portion of the modern labor economy shifts toward a marketplace-focused work structure, more cases and opinions are coming forth to confirm the viability of the gig economy platform model. A recent opinion letter...more
On April 3, 2019, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted a proposed plan to delay the collection of employee pay data from May 31, 2019, to September 30, 2019. The EEOC's proposal was filed in...more