The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) has been increasingly criticized as harmful to employers and employees. Well-meaning organizations are forced to expend resources settling often frivolous actions rather than...more
Governor Newsome has signed S.B. 1162, which requires employers to make salary ranges for positions available to both applicants and employees and expands pay data reporting requirements to better identify gender and...more
9/29/2022
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Newsom ,
Job Ads ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an ongoing upheaval in the California (and greater U.S.) labor market. Extensive job losses early in the pandemic have led to a tight labor market, which arose in part due to the...more
In a unanimous opinion in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, the California Supreme Court ruled on the important practical question of whether the “regular rate of compensation” for calculating meal or rest break premium...more
7/19/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
Currently, under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), California employers with 50 or more employees must provide 12 weeks of job protection to employees to care for a seriously ill family member or for one’s own...more
On September 9, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1867, which supplements both the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act and California Executive Order N-51-20, with the result of providing some form of paid...more
On April 7, 2020, several California cities and counties issued emergency orders requiring nonmedical essential workers and residents who are leaving their homes to wear face coverings. Face coverings may include cloth...more
In Kim v. Reins, the Supreme Court was faced with the following question: Do employees lose standing to pursue a PAGA claim if they settle and dismiss their individual claims for Labor Code violations? To the surprise of many...more
3/17/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reversal ,
Settlement Offer ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment
Employees must be paid for time spent on their employer’s premises waiting for, and undergoing, required searches of bags and other property voluntarily brought to work, according to the California Supreme Court’s ruling...more
On October 11, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 51, which will drastically change the requirements for employers who use arbitration agreements. Specifically, the new law bans employers from requiring, as a...more
10/17/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
State Labor Laws
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
10/9/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Governor Newsom ,
Health Insurance ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Withholding Tax
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In his last bill signing of his final term, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law several bills affecting employers’ obligations relating to sexual harassment. Those imposing the most sweeping changes are described briefly...more
The California Supreme Court recently confirmed that employers seeking background reports need to ensure they are in compliance with both the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) and the Consumer Credit...more
Let’s face it. The hiring process involves mounds of regulations, disclosures, authorizations, and then more disclosures. The last thing an employer – or applicant – wants to see is a higher stack of documents filled with...more
4/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Frito-Lay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Waivers
Question: Our company offers employees a self-funded and self-insured health plan. We’d now like to implement a wellness program. Can we require employees to complete a health risk assessment which requests personal medical...more