Once a startup has properly classified its worker, it should document its relationship with the worker in order to clearly identify the classification, compensation and benefits (e.g., base salary, bonus, commissions, equity,...more
An important part of hiring employees is deciding how to compensate them. Because of limited capital, startups often implement equity-only compensation or deferred compensation arrangements in lieu of regular salaries....more
Hiring workers is an important step for startups. Startups engage two main types of workers—employees and independent contractors. It can be difficult to determine the proper classification of a worker, especially since both...more
Effective August 1, 2023, employers participating in E-Verify in good standing have the option to conduct remote inspections of Form I-9 documents, pursuant to the federal Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new rule....more
8/7/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
In May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the Form I-9 flexibilities allowing for remote verification will end on July 31, 2023. DHS regulations...more
7/3/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
Join Fenwick’s Employment Practices Group for a 90-minute discussion of the legal developments and emerging trends that shaped 2022 then hear about the compliance recommendations, practical takeaways, and perspective on what...more
12/23/2022
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Proposed Rule on Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act -
On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule updating the...more
10/25/2022
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Reporting ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Marijuana ,
New York ,
Notice Requirements ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 decision in a trio of linked cases (Altitude Express v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity...more
6/18/2020
/ 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 outlined in our prior alert, a multitude of changes in New York employment law have either gone into effect or will be in effect soon. We encourage employers with New York operations to review our prior guidance,...more
In 2019, we published analysis to help tech and life sciences companies navigate U.S. tax law changes, an evolving IP landscape and new privacy regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act. We also tracked venture...more
1/8/2020
/ ABC Test ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Convertible Debt ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Privacy ,
Debt Financing ,
Direct Listing ,
Diversity ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Tax Credits ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Life Sciences ,
Misclassification ,
New Guidance ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proxy Season ,
Silicon Valley ,
Startups ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Venture Capital ,
Withholding Tax ,
Woman Board Members
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18 signed into law Assembly Bill 5, landmark legislation which codifies, and significantly expands, the reach of the California Supreme Court’s restrictive “ABC” test for determining...more
9/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on August 12 signed into law new legislation expanding employee protections against discrimination and harassment. Among the key provisions are a lower standard for proving harassment,...more
8/14/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Faragher/Ellerth defense ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Notice Requirements ,
Protected Class ,
Punitive Damages ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Wage and Hour
In a continuing effort to combat pay discrimination, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed AB 168 into law. Beginning January 1, 2018, all California employers are prohibited from seeking, by any means, salary history from an...more
10/23/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
Legislative Update -
Governor Brown recently signed into state law the following employment law bills (among others):
SB 358—Referred to as the California Fair Pay Act, this law is directed at closing the pay...more
10/26/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Background Checks ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Application ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantially Similar ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
New Amendments Clarify California Paid Sick Leave -
This month, the California Legislature enacted AB 304, an urgency measure that became effective on July 13 and provides much needed clarity on various aspects of...more
7/28/2015
/ Accrued Benefits ,
Administrative Interpretation ,
Credit Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DLSE ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Sick Leave ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Federal anti-discrimination laws (“Title VII”) prohibit an employer from refusing to hire a candidate to avoid accommodating a suspected, but unconfirmed religious practice, according to a recent United States Supreme Court...more
6/26/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Clothing ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII
Employer’s Motive, Not Confirmed Knowledge Of Accommodation Need, Is Basis Of Religious Accommodation Violation -
Federal anti-discrimination laws (“Title VII”) prohibit an employer from refusing to hire a candidate to...more
6/24/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Ban the Box ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Clothing ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour
In Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, the United States Supreme Court held that the conciliation efforts of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are subject to judicial review, although such review is limited to ensure...more
Finding that LinkedIn’s “Reference Search” function was not subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a Northern California federal district court dismissed a putative class action filed on behalf of job applicants who...more
Does California Business and Professions Code § 16600 prohibit employees from waiving their right to reemployment with prior employers? The answer is maybe, according to the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Golden v. Calif....more
Ninth Circuit Reviews Enforceability of Waiver of Right to Reemployment -
Does California Business and Professions Code § 16600 prohibit employees from waiving their right to reemployment with prior employers? The...more
4/29/2015
/ Business & Professions Code ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Offensive Language ,
Protected Activity ,
Termination ,
Visa Caps ,
Wage and Hour
Scrutiny of mandatory, pre-employment arbitration agreements continues before California state and federal courts. Several recent decisions provide helpful reminders for employers drafting, reviewing or enforcing arbitration...more
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) upheld a San Francisco nonprofit’s decision not to rehire two employees due to their Facebook conversation. In Richmond District Neighborhood Center, the nonprofit ran an...more
In Kao v. University of San Francisco, a California appellate court upheld a jury’s verdict that the University of San Francisco (“USF”) lawfully terminated a professor who refused to undergo a fitness-for-duty examination....more
Is an employer allowed to enforce a uniformly-applied workplace conduct policy against an employee whose misconduct was caused by her disability? A federal district court in California said “maybe, maybe not,” and determined...more