2023 was a seismic year for the employment landscape, with changes to state and federal laws that touch on hiring, firing, and just about everything in between. Members of Fenwick’s employment group recently walked through...more
2/1/2024
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology ,
Wage and Hour
As we reported last month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) struck down broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, finding such provisions to be...more
California Legislative Update -
In the latter half of 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed numerous bills into law. Below is a summary of those laws that will affect California employers in 2017 and...more
1/21/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
Cell Phones ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Company Vehicles ,
Computer Software Workers ,
Criminal Records ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Drivers ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Governor Brown ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Injunctions ,
Juveniles ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mental Health ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
NLRB ,
No-Poaching ,
Notice Requirements ,
NYDOL ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Parental Leave ,
Payroll Records ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Ridesharing ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
State-Run Retirement Plans ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Venue ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White-Collar Exemptions
2016 brought several employment law developments that will undoubtedly affect your workplace. The Fenwick & West Employment Practices Group invites you to attend its annual complimentary briefing to learn more about the most...more
12/12/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Events ,
LGBTQ ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Separation Agreement ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media Policy ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wage and Hour
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
Recent Cases Provide Helpful Reminders Regarding Best Practices (and Pitfalls) with Employment Arbitration Clauses -
Scrutiny of mandatory, pre-employment arbitration agreements continues before California state and...more
The United States Supreme Court recently held in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk et al. that time spent waiting for and undergoing post-shift security checks is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) has yet again expanded employees’ rights to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment or otherwise engage in protected activity. In Purple Communications,...more
Waiting for and Undergoing Security Checks Not Compensable Time -
The United States Supreme Court recently held in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk et al. that time spent waiting for and undergoing post-shift...more
1/13/2015
/ Cell Phones ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Integrity Staffing v Busk ,
Labor Code ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Reimbursements ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Checks ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
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
California Becomes Second State to Mandate Paid Sick Leave -
On September 10, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law AB 1522 (Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014), which requires all California employers,...more
A recent announcement by the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel and a Washington Supreme Court decision underscore the risks of potential joint employer liability...more
Partial-Day Leave Deductions Lawful for Exempt Employees -
A California court of appeal recently confirmed that employers may require exempt employees to use accrued leave for partial-day absences, even if shorter than...more
8/15/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Retaliation
In Hills and Dales General Hospital, the NLRB recently determined that an employer’s standards of behavior policy that prohibited “negative comments” and “negativity or gossip,” and directed employees to represent the...more
Supreme Court Confirms FICA Taxes Must be Withheld from Severance Payments -
Finding severance payments to be a form of “remuneration for employment,” the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Quality Stores,...more
4/22/2014
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FEHA ,
FICA Taxes ,
Harassment ,
Hills and Dales ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Posting Requirements ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Pay ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
Wages ,
Whistleblowers
Finding the National Labor Relations Board failed to give appropriate weight to the Federal Arbitration Act, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Board decision invalidating an arbitration agreement that...more
Finding the National Labor Relations Board failed to give appropriate weight to the Federal Arbitration Act, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Board decision invalidating an arbitration agreement that...more
The NLRB's controversial requirement that employers post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (as reported in our January and May 2012 FEBs) has been held unconstitutional by the...more
The NLRB's controversial requirement that employers post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (as reported in our January and May 2012 FEBs) has been held unconstitutional by the...more
5/15/2013
/ Age Discrimination ,
Criminal Sanctions ,
Discrimination ,
Hackers ,
Jury Awards ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Notice Requirements ,
Posting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Title VII ,
Unconscionable Contracts
In This Issue:
*FEATURE ARTICLES
- Cal Supreme Court Refuses To Immunize Employers In Mixed-Motive Discrimination Cases, But Significantly Limits Remedies
- Manager's Bias, Public Policy, And Defamation...more
2/21/2013
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Canning v NLRB ,
Claims Limitations Period ,
Defamation ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Fraud Exception ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Kmart ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
NLRB ,
Parol Evidence ,
Public Policy ,
Recess Appointments ,
Suitable Seats Lawsuits ,
Termination ,
Unconscionable Contracts
In This Issue:
- FEATURE ARTICLES
Supreme Court Emphasizes Supremacy Of Federal Arbitration Act and
Honest Belief Inadequate Defense In CFRA Interference Claim.
- NEWS BITES
Class Action...more
12/19/2012
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Honest Belief Defense ,
NLRB ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII