Episode 309 -- Alex Cotoia on Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
The California Legislature has enacted several new laws that will impact the workplace in 2024. This Holland & Knight alert provides a brief summary of select employment laws that go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, unless stated...more
I have often said to clients that retaliation claims in California are the easiest claims to allege and the hardest claims to defend. Regardless of the statute, a retaliation claim is essentially three things:...more
Employee claims of retaliation in the workplace have been on an upward trend since the California Legislature amended Labor Code section 1102.5 to include protections for whistleblower complaints made directly to a person...more
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 497—also referred to as the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act. SB 497 amends California Labor Code Sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 1197.5...more
New Jersey is leading the movement to create affirmative protections for temporary laborers. On February 6, Governor Murphy signed the “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights,” which strengthens protections for temporary workers....more
In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this third day of the holidays, my labor and employment...more
As we previewed previously, a number of hot-button legislative proposals made it to Governor Newsom’s desk this year – many of which would change the landscape for California employers. For the first time since the COVID-19...more
Key Takeaways - As of September 2020, New Jersey law created a “rebuttable presumption” that COVID-19 is work-related and fully compensable for the purposes of workers’ compensation—assuming the petitioner is an essential...more
On February 4, 2022, Governor Tim Walz signed House File (H.F.) 1203 into law, which extends the presumption that certain frontline healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 at work if they test positive. The prior presumption...more
As technology has advanced, employers routinely rely on electronic timekeeping software to ensure accurate record keeping. Such software often includes a setting to round employees’ time (typically to the nearest quarter...more
California employers may not apply time-rounding procedures to meal period time entries, based on a recent California Supreme Court decision. ...more
In Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, the California Supreme Court held that where employees’ time records reflect a missed, late or short meal break, a “rebuttable presumption” arises that a proper meal break was not provided....more
Taking a meal break in California is no simple affair. Culminating seven years of litigation involving one California employer, on February 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of California issued its unanimous opinion in Donohue v....more
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, holding that (1) employers cannot round time punches in the meal period context, and (2) time records showing noncompliant...more
Today, the California Supreme Court held that employers cannot use the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context, and that unrounded time records that show noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable...more
Can you believe this year is nearly over? Before popping the champagne, it's time to reprise our annual review of key labor and employment law developments in California. While California employers are thrown curve balls...more
On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom approved Senate Bill No. 1159, which creates a framework for COVID-19 related workers’ compensation claims. The new law adds Section 3212.88 to the California Labor Code and applies to...more
In May 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that created a time-limited rebuttable presumption for employees to seek workers’ compensation benefits if they tested positive for COVID-19 while on the job. The...more
On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed SB 1159 into law, expanding access to workers’ compensation and making it easier for first responders, health care workers, and other workers who test positive for COVID-19 due to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Senate Bill 1159 was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 17, 2020, and went into effect immediately. Under the new law, if employees test positive for COVID-19 under specific circumstances,...more
In the last two weeks, the California Legislature has enacted numerous bills relating to employer obligations in light of COVID-19. Five of these bills have already been signed into law by Governor Newsom. The remainder may...more
On September 17, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 1159, (SB 1159) which modifies and extends the Governor’s Executive Order N-62-20 creating a disputable workers’ compensation presumption...more
Ever since Governor Newsom’s May 7 th Executive Order N-63-20 established a new paradigm for claims handling in the era of COVID-19, the workers’ compensation world has waited with bated breath for the inevitable legislation...more
A recent Arizona law, A.R.S. § 23-1601, provides protections for Arizona employers who use independent contractors. Many Arizona businesses aren't taking advantage of the benefits and protections the law provides....more
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) has called an emergency meeting on Monday to withdraw its controversial new rule adopting a rebuttal presumption of work-relatedness for first responders and essential...more