Seyfarth Synopsis: Are you ready for it? The record-smashing icon, Taylor Swift, may have taken her tour to Europe, but that doesn’t stop new laws from cropping up back home. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed...more
Is an employee compensable for time spent on waiting and exit searches as "hours worked," even after clocking out? Per the California Supreme Court, it depends on the level of the employer's control over its employees....more
Retail workers are often the unsung heroes of the holiday shopping season. Stores are open longer and have bigger crowds, and customers are tenser than usual. To navigate the holiday season smoothly, retail employers should...more
Retail employers in Los Angeles will soon be required to provide employees with written, good faith estimates of their schedules and offer extra hours to current employees before hiring new workers under a new ordinance that...more
The Los Angeles City Council passed the Fair Work Week Ordinance (“FWWO”) that seeks to “implement enforcement measures for the new fair work week employment standards” for employees in the retail sector. Going into effect...more
Los Angeles City retail employers may soon be subject to significant new employee scheduling requirements. On November 22, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed the Fair Work Week Ordinance (the...more
Los Angeles is set to strengthen protections for retail workers in a sweeping law known as the Fair Work Week Ordinance, which the city council approved on November 29. The ordinance — which is expected to impact about 70,000...more
In the retail environment, customer service is paramount. Workers spend their time answering questions, stocking shelves, organizing displays, sourcing and sizing, and, yes, even gift-wrapping sometimes. They do it all...more
This summer marks the second year with Juneteenth as a premium pay holiday for Massachusetts retailers. In 2020, as part of a COVID-19-related spending bill, the Massachusetts legislature added Juneteenth National...more
A recent decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court held that workers at a day spa were not entitled to Sunday “premium pay” under the Commonwealth’s Blue Laws. This decision departs from the Massachusetts courts’ typical...more
On September 27, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 62, also known as the Garment Worker Protection Act, into law. SB 62 makes California the first state to require an hourly minimum wage for garment workers by...more
Last summer, as part of a COVID-19-related spending bill, the Massachusetts legislature added Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19) to the list of premium pay holidays in the Commonwealth’s “Blue Laws.” Juneteenth now joins...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
On March 15, 2021, the City Council of West Hollywood added new categories of workers to its existing hero pay mandate of $5.00 per hour worked for large-chain grocery store employees. The new ordinance goes into effect on...more
On March 1, 2021, the City Council of Pomona, California, passed an ordinance that establishes premium pay for retail food workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pomona is an incorporated city located in Los Angeles County and...more
Many employers with operations in California may already be familiar with Frlekin v. Apple, Inc. The heavily litigated case, first filed in 2013, involves claims that Apple retail employees are entitled to compensation for...more
For those of you craving a non-COVID-19 issue to chew upon, the Department of Labor opened the floodgates of debate by withdrawing the partial lists of establishments that could either be “recognized as retail” or “having no...more
FOCUS ON WAGE & HOUR - DOL Updates Overtime Exemption for Commissioned Retail Workers - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has revised its regulations to simplify the statutory scheme governing whether employees who...more
On May 18, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule to govern the determination of whether an employer qualifies as a “retail or service” establishment for purposes of...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew its interpretative rules setting forth the types of businesses either not qualifying, or only possibly qualifying, as “retail or service establishments” when determining whether a...more
From the time of its original enactment in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act has contained an exemption for certain employees of a “retail or service establishment.” ...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations today that are expected to expand the number of workers who are exempt from overtime requirements because (among other things) they work for a retail or service...more
Keeping an eye on changes and trends in employment law is an excellent way for businesses to mitigate risk. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This adage rings especially true...more
The California Supreme Court clarified in a highly anticipated decision, that time spent waiting for and undergoing mandatory exit searches of personal items is considered compensable time under California’s Wage Orders....more
For decades, the problem of scheduling has plagued employers and employees alike. Employees prefer predictable and reliable schedules, while employers need flexibility. To address this tension, regulators have recently begun...more