On March 19, 2021 Governor Newsom signed into law SB 95 (adding sections 248.2 and 248.3 to the Labor Code), which requires employers to pay California employees up to two weeks of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave...more
3/31/2021
/ Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Retroactive Application ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As employers anticipate returning to work in light of increased availability of vaccines, some have considered requiring employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination to return to the workplace. ...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
As cities and states around the United States are gearing to reopen facilities, employers are tasked with the daunting responsibility of ensuring that their workspaces are safe. ...more
6/9/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Travel Time ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On May 6, 2020, Governor Newsom enacted executive order N-62-20 (the Order), substantially expanding the availability of workers compensation to employees that contract COVID-19....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
Employers are understandably concerned about the possibility of being forced to furlough or lay off employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have covered some of the relevant considerations including the Families First...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
Starting with the NBA's suspension of its regular season, professional sports have shuttered around the world. The NHL, MLS, NCAA, MLB, PGA Tour, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and Formula One have suspended,...more
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 Coronavirus which causes the disease COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) presents a plethora of challenging labor and employment issues for employers in the United States. ...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
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
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law 15 bills designed to provide greater employee protections in California. Among those bills were Assembly Bill 9 (“AB 9”) and Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”), both of which...more
10/29/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
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 debate about whether the Dynamex decision applies retroactively is alive again thanks to a reverse course by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As we previously discussed, in April 2018, the California Supreme Court...more
8/13/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc., the Ninth Circuit revived a decade old wage and hour class action and simultaneously dealt a blow to many employers utilizing independent contractors by holding that California...more
5/6/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Opinion Letter ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
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
Employers in California should be ready for a big change in the retirement law to take effect over the next three years. This change comes in the form of a new California program called CalSavers (formerly known as Secure...more
1/9/2019
/ 401k ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Secure Choice Savings Program ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws