On January 13, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Safety and Health Codes Board voted to enact a permanent workplace safety rule to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure, making Virginia one of the first...more
With legislative activity around COVID-19 is continuing at a steady pace, it is easy to lose track of the myriad requirements applicable to employers, especially those requirements applicable to employees reporting into a...more
In response to unprecedented unemployment levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ordinance on June 23, 2020, that imposes rehiring, notice and reporting obligations...more
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States "at last" issued a 6-3 decision in which it "did not hesitate" to extend protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to gay and transgender workers....more
6/17/2020
/ 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 mentioned in previous Cooley alerts, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide emergency paid sick leave to eligible employees. San Jose...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic has displaced workers across the country, companies need effective ways to protect intellectual property and confidential trade secrets. This article outlines pragmatic steps to contain risk and...more
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the uncertainty over its scope and lasting impact on the economy, companies are now considering options to ensure continued viability of their business, including labor...more
On May 3, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it would collect employee pay data from EEO-1 employers beginning this summer. The announcement came after Judge Tanya Chutkan overturned the stay on...more
As a sizable portion of the modern labor economy shifts toward a marketplace-focused work structure, more cases and opinions are coming forth to confirm the viability of the gig economy platform model. A recent opinion letter...more
On April 3, 2019, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted a proposed plan to delay the collection of employee pay data from May 31, 2019, to September 30, 2019. The EEOC's proposal was filed in...more
Many California employers use employee non-solicitation provisions in their employment agreements. These provisions prohibit employees, both during their employment and for one to two years thereafter, from soliciting the...more
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act protects the rights of employment candidates and employees when the employer seeks a consumer report, commonly known as a background check, conducted by a third-party investigator. Many...more
As the calendar turns from 2018 to 2019, New York's minimum wage and minimum exempt salary threshold are set to increase in accordance with their respective implementation schedules. Similarly, the New York Paid Family Leave...more
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and resulting nationwide conversation about sexual harassment, California lawmakers recently passed legislation intended to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. On September 30, 2018,...more
Yesterday, the President issued a new Executive Order (E.O.) prohibiting certain financial transactions involving the Venezuelan government, including Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the state-owned oil company....more
An amendment to New York City's Earned Sick Time Act, which went into effect on May 5, 2018, now permits employees to use earned sick time for certain new designated purposes, including dealing with domestic violence, sexual...more
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court unanimously rejected the common law test for independent contractors used in California for the last three decades and, for purposes of California's wage orders (which impose...more
On February 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that employees must report a violation of securities laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to be entitled to anti-retaliation,...more
3/2/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Effective January 1, 2018, California joins a number of other states and major cities in prohibiting private employers from making pre-offer inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal history (so-called "ban the box" laws)....more
Beginning on January 1, 2018, employers in New York must offer family leave benefits to eligible employees under the New York Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (PFL), including partial wage replacement and job protection for up...more
Recently, California's Governor Jerry Brown approved of new legislation impacting California employers. Employers should take note of these laws, which address wage discrimination and expand unpaid baby bonding leave, to...more
Existing California law prohibits employers from discharging or in any manner discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking who takes time off work for...more
On December 22, 2016, the California Supreme Court addressed two related issues: (i) whether California law requires employers to permit off-duty rest periods – that is, time during which an employee is relieved from all...more
On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the Department of Labor from enforcing its new overtime rule doubling the salary threshold to qualify for the Fair Labor...more
The California Supreme Court has issued a recent opinion (Kilby v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. S215614) interpreting, for the first time, California's Wage Order requirement that "all working employees shall be provided with...more