On July 6, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) released an updated list of draft and final topics that the agency anticipates publishing guidance documents for by the end of December 2023....more
On June 27, 2023, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) went into effect. The law requires employers with 15 or more workers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to...more
On June 30, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it would be publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking on the use of consumer reviews and testimonials.
The proposed rule follows FTC’s November 2022...more
7/11/2023
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Endorsements ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Marketing ,
Misrepresentation ,
NPRM ,
Online Endorsements ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On June 1, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that berry distributors were not liable as “client-employers” of agricultural workers. The plaintiff agricultural workers...more
On June 26, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an insurance company’s win over a restaurant group seeking insurance coverage for pandemic-related claims in Team 44...more
6/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Restaurant Industry
On June 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) announced that it was implementing a multi-step effort to strengthen the substantiation of animal-raising claims. Animal-raising claims are voluntary marketing...more
On May 1, 2023, a ban on single-use plastics went into effect for restaurants with permanent locations in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The ban was originally passed in April of 2022 by the Los Angeles County...more
On April 28, 2023, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Kroger alleging that the company misleadingly labeled spreadable fruit products...more
On April 13, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it had sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Substantiation of Product Claims and a Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Deceptive or Unfair...more
4/21/2023
/ Advertising ,
Endorsements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Claims ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On April 7, 2023, the City of Los Angeles (the “City”) released a revised “LA Al Fresco Ordinance,” to govern outdoor dining. The City had previously released a February 2023 proposed ordinance that was met with intense...more
On January 13, 2023, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ruled that implementation of the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Act”) should remain on hold pending the Secretary of State’s...more
California retail businesses must prepare to open employee-only restrooms to members of the public to accommodate medical conditions including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, other inflammatory bowel disease, and...more
On December 30, 2022, Judge Shelleyanne Chang of the Superior Court of Sacramento issued a temporary restraining order to block adoption of the FAST Act, which was due to take effect on January 1.
The Save Local...more
In response to recent Supreme Court decisions and laws in other states outlawing abortion, California passed a number of new laws designed to protect reproductive rights in the state. These include bills to prohibit a person...more
12/29/2022
/ Abortion ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
New Legislation ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws
California law already requires hotels to provide training to their staff on how to recognize human trafficking and how to report suspected trafficking to either law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline....more
On January 1, 2023, Assembly Bill (“AB”) 676 will go into effect, significantly amending the California Franchise Relations Act and Franchise Investment Law. The provisions of AB 676 will only apply to franchise agreements...more
California‘s FAST Recovery Act will likely be placed on hold until November 2024.
The Save Local Restaurants coalition, a group composed of restaurant industry advocates, filed a voter referendum on September 7, 2022 to...more
On November 22, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council passed the Fair Work Week ordinance (the “Ordinance”). The Ordinance passed with a 10-0 vote, and will go into effect on April 1, 2023....more
On September 27, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1162, which requires employers with more than 15 employees to post salary scales with every job posting and to disclose the pay scale for a position held by an...more
On September 15, 2022, the Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District reversed the lower court and revived false advertising claims involving “white baking” chips or morsels.
Both cases involve the...more
On September 5, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 257, a controversial and far-reaching law that will have a major impact on California fast food employers and is likely to shape the way the state regulates...more
9/13/2022
/ Advisory Board ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Governor Newsom ,
Popular ,
SEIU ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a July 2022 report to urging federal agencies to better coordinate regulatory guidance on food-related challenges, including diet-related chronic health conditions and...more
In a move that has hospitality industry leaders expressing concerns about safety and a negative effect on tourism, on August 5, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council considered a proposal that would force hotels to rent...more
On July 8, 2022, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the City’s new Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (“the Ordinance”) into law. The Ordinance was passed by the City Council on June 28, 2022. It will go into effect 30 days after...more
On July 29, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (the “Act”). The Act is designed to phase out single-use plastics in the state and is the...more