Let me be the millionth person to say that we are living in unprecedented times.
Well, unless you count the Spanish Flu, which few of us probably dealt with as that was more than a century ago....more
5/16/2020
/ After-Hours Work ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Reimbursements ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
For those of you who may have been wondering whether the California Attorney General’s office was still open during the statewide stay-at-home order triggered by the coronavirus, the answer is yes – as evidenced by a...more
5/8/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
We have written here about the efforts of several gig economy companies like DoorDash to avoid having to conduct – and pay for – thousands of individual arbitrations alleging that their workers had been misclassified....more
4/22/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
DoorDash ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Postmates
It is no secret that independent contractor misclassification claims are being filed against employers with a great deal of frequency, often as class actions and often in California. Many of those lawsuits have been filed...more
In the coming days, weeks and perhaps months, many employers will have difficult decisions to make about their operations and their workforces. With their operations shutting down or running at less than capacity, many...more
Recently, we wrote here about a federal court order requiring DoorDash to conduct more than 5,000 individual arbitrations under the terms of its mandatory arbitration agreements, with each arbitration to address claims that...more
3/9/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
DoorDash ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Filing Fees ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Misclassification
It is not unusual for businesses at risk of employee theft to implement security screenings for employees as they exit the employer’s facilities. Such screenings are especially common in industries where small, costly items...more
It’s no secret that many employers have employees sign arbitration agreements with class and collective action waivers in the hopes of avoiding the massive wage-hour lawsuits that have become so prevalent in the past two...more
2/14/2020
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
DoorDash ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fees ,
Motion to Compel
As we have written here, the day before California’s controversial AB 5 was set to go into effect, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the law as to...more
2/3/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
As we recently wrote here, on December 29, 2019, just days before California’s new arbitration statute known as AB 51 was to go into effect, a federal judge in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of...more
1/16/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Regulations ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restraining Orders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
As we recently wrote here, just hours before California’s controversial AB 5 went into effect, a federal court in San Diego issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to enjoin enforcement of the independent contractor...more
1/16/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commerce Clause ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Owner-Operators ,
Preemption ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
Following the challenges to AB 5, California’s controversial new independent contractor law, can be a difficult endeavor. Every day seems to bring a new development....more
1/13/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
AB 5, California’s hastily passed and controversial independent contractor statute, which codifies the use of an “ABC test,” is set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. Already, the California Trucking Association has filed...more
1/2/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Due Process ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
On-Demand Services ,
Retroactive Application ,
Ridesharing ,
Sharing Economy ,
State and Local Government ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
We recently wrote about a new California law set to go into effect on January 1, 2020 that would outlaw mandatory arbitration agreements with employees....more
12/31/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restraining Orders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
It seems as though there is a minefield that employers must navigate to ensure that they fulfill their wage and hour obligations to their employees. Employers must somehow comply with overlapping and seemingly contradictory...more
As we wrote here in September 27, the new “white collar” salary thresholds under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) are set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. That deadline is sneaking up fast....more
11/22/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As employers with operations in California had feared, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 51, which effectively outlaws mandatory arbitration agreements with employees – a new version of a bill that prior Governor Jerry...more
10/14/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
As employers with operations in California had feared, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 51, which effectively outlaws mandatory arbitration agreements with employees—a new version of a bill that prior Governor Jerry Brown...more
10/14/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Governor Newsom ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Self-Regulatory Organizations
In the fall of 2016, before the Obama administration increases to the minimum salary were set to go into effect (spoiler alert – they didn’t!), we wrote in this space about the challenges facing employers in addressing those...more
9/30/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
There may soon be a fair number of big-rig trucks for sale in California, as well as computers, desks, and other material investments of persons who determine that they may no longer offer their services as independent...more
9/25/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
Hospitality remains at the forefront of demanding industries where employers must be ever vigilant in their efforts to ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. We highlight below...more
5/15/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Internships ,
Joint Employers ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Arguably, the very first workplace regulation, dating back thousands of years, was one involving wage and hour issues—the mandatory day of rest. While much has changed over the great many years since then, the centrality of...more
10/2/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Opinion Letter ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, clarifying the standard for determining whether workers in California should be classified as...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Wake of #MeToo -
Revelations of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and those that have followed, have ignited sexual harassment complaints against employers across all industries....more
12/27/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Harassment ,
Minimum Salary ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions