The California Supreme Court clarified in a highly anticipated decision, that time spent waiting for and undergoing mandatory exit searches of personal items is considered compensable time under California’s Wage Orders....more
2/18/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Apple ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Personal Property ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
Security Checks ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour
We previously wrote about Riot Games’ $10,000,000 settlement of a class action lawsuit for alleged discrimination, retaliation and harassment....more
Many California laws seek to restrict the terms and conditions an employer may place on an employee during employment. Tuesday, the California Court of Appeal confirmed that Business and Professions Code Section 16600 is not...more
Just ask Riot Games, which recently agreed to pay $10,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit for alleged violations of the California Equal Pay Act, and gender discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. The settlement...more
12/5/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hostile Environment ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tone At The Top ,
Unfair Labor Practices
Last in our series of California’s legislative updates is a summary of bills aimed at sexual harassment in the janitorial and construction industries...more
11/6/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Construction Workers ,
Corporate Culture ,
DLSE ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Janitorial Services ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees
Today our employer focused legislative update zeroes in on “no rehire” provisions in settlement agreements, expansion of benefits to employees who donate organs, and care for a family member...more
10/31/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Hires ,
New Legislation ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
Organ Donation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave
Continuing with our legislative update, today we will offer insights into new bills expanding the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) authority and the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s (FEHA) protected...more
10/25/2019
/ Cause of Action Accrual ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
California’s 2019 legislative session recently ended, leaving employers with a number of new laws requiring compliance starting January 1, 2020. To assist employers, we are publishing a series of blogs, each dedicated to a...more
In our previous blog we wrote about California’s Assembly Bill 51, which largely impacts arbitration agreements by prohibiting employers from requiring employees or applicants for employment to agree to arbitrate claims for...more
10/21/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed groundbreaking legislation largely impacting mandatory arbitration agreements (Assembly Bill 51) and extending the deadline to file a harassment complaint from one to three years...more
10/16/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
Last year (April 2018) the California Supreme Court rocked the boat with the seminal Dynamex decision, which created very high barriers for companies who utilize independent contractors. On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin...more
9/23/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Arbitration is a highly controversial topic in California.
Just last year 20,000 Google employees walked off the job in protest of Google’s policy to arbitrate workplace misconduct claims. A few weeks ago more than 200...more
7/12/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Regulations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The discourse around equal pay has reverberated through the media and made its way to a new federal regulation that seeks to identify and address instances in which persons of different sex, race, and ethnicity earn different...more
The analysis of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of California’s Wage Orders became more restrictive in 2018 following the California Supreme Court’s adoption of the “ABC” test in the...more
6/6/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
DLSE ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
Last week a California Court of Appeal’s decision concerning the “reporting time pay” wage order rule joined a growing line of other wage order litigation – such as those complaints regarding suitable seating, or rest...more
The 2017-2018 legislative session concluded last month with new laws effecting almost all employers in California. Here’s a summary of the new laws, as well as the bills that would have had a significant impact, but were...more
10/12/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Breastfeeding ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strict Compliance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights
Senate Bill 970 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and applies exclusively to all hotels and motels with employees in California....more
10/2/2018
/ Child Labor ,
Employee Training ,
Exploitation ,
Forced Labor ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Trafficking ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strict Compliance
De minimis is a Latin phrase that refers to something of little importance, or very irrelevant. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) recognizes that some employee duties are so small, or take such little time, that...more
What should an employer do when an employee violates Company policies or when the employee’s actions reflect poorly on the Company? Most employers use disciplinary actions – anything between verbal warnings on up to...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision confirming the enforceability of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements....more
5/25/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
This may not be the best time of year to talk about sick leave. The days are longer. The sun is shining. The weather is hotter. And, workplaces... well, they don’t really change by the season. So maybe it is appropriate to...more
If you missed recent news regarding the #MeToo movement – welcome back from outer space! The Me Too movement has been sweeping the U.S. and the world since October 2017, encouraging women and men to speak up about sexual...more
You can like it. You can hate it. But one thing is certain: California is a trend-setter when it comes to employees’ rights. Maintaining that tradition, Governor Brown just signed Senate Bill 63 and Assembly Bill 168 into...more
We told you about Los Angeles’ Ban the Box ordinance in early December. Also known as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO), the new regulation seeks to reduce recidivism by limiting inquiries regarding...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued a “User-Friendly Document” explaining the rights of job applicants and employees with mental health conditions. In doing so, the EEOC has confirmed that individuals...more
12/30/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disabilities ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Job Promotions ,
Mental Health ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation