California’s legislature covered a wide array of labor and employment law topics in the 2024 legislative session. The laws discussed below were signed into law by Governor Newsom and will become effective on January 1, 2025,...more
12/31/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
The new year is just around the corner, and that means that employers in California need to prepare for a host of new labor and employment law obligations that go into effect on January 1, 2025. One such obligation relates...more
States and some cities were especially active this year passing workplace legislation, many of which create new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) has been tracking these laws as...more
11/25/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers’ Compensation
A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
What do you get when you combine a business-backed ballot initiative, the state legislature and governor’s office, and labor organizations? A deal. California style.
By now you have heard of the deal to reform the...more
Hot off the press – here is Littler’s mid-year report! As federal regulators, states and cities continue to pass new workplace regulations through the calendar year, we summarize each state’s notable labor and employment law...more
6/21/2024
/ 401k ,
Child Labor ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Tax ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Popular ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Safety
The federal government, states, counties, and cities were active again this year passing workplace legislation intended for the most part to protect employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s...more
11/27/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California’s legislature covered a wide array of labor and employment law topics this legislative session. The laws discussed below were signed into law by Governor Newsom and will become effective on January 1, 2024 unless...more
10/27/2023
/ California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence
California enacted two new bills expanding the scope and consequences of the state’s policies against restrictive covenants. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 699 into law on September 1, 2023, and Assembly Bill 1076 into...more
10/18/2023
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
For years, California has led the way in the fast food industry, with several prominent brands having their origins in the Golden State. More recently, California has shown innovation in the ways that the employment of fast...more
9/12/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Food Service Workers ,
IWC ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
We are in the final stretch of the California legislature’s first year of a two-year session. One bill that sped through the legislative process—without any registered opposition—is Senate Bill 699, which extends the state’s...more
9/7/2023
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
As happens this time every year in California, legislators and the governor are crafting a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget bill currently under consideration in Sacramento contains a startling and...more
6/27/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IWC ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Traditionally, January 1 has been the key date for which employers must prepare to implement new labor and employment compliance obligations for new laws passed within the previous year. For the past several years, we have...more
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
4/21/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Wage and Hour
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
2022 is coming to a close, and the new year will be here before we know it. While many states, cities and counties seem to be willing to pass employment laws and regulations at any time, the first day of a new year is still...more
11/3/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California state and local governmental bodies—our state legislature, and counties and cities—were active again this year in their efforts to regulate the workplace. Littler Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these...more
10/6/2022
/ Amended Regulation ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more
On July 27, 2022, the Director of California’s Department of Finance sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and other state officials, noting that the Department had determined poor economic conditions necessitated expedited...more
Over the past few years, cities and counties have gotten into the business of regulating the workplace, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments. Many local jurisdictions have focused particular attention...more
7/26/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Safety
Over the past few years, cities have started to implement their own workplace regulations, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments. The hotel industry, which often is one of the primary drivers of a...more
It used to be that employers had the luxury of waiting until January 1 to be vigilant for new employment laws and compliant challenges. For the past several years, we have reported on employment and labor laws taking effect...more
6/23/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour
On Friday, January 7, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument regarding two of the Biden administration’s most contentious COVID-19 workplace health and safety policies: the Occupational Safety and Health...more
1/5/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
2021 saw state and local legislatures shifting their focus away from COVID-19 measures back to traditional employment law matters. Although two states and the District of Columbia have COVID-19 related legislation going into...more
11/12/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Trafficking ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
In 2019, California adopted several laws that restricted “non-disclosure" provisions in employment-related agreements. Those laws, passed in the wake of the “me too” movement, limited non-disclosure provisions in settlement...more