On Sept. 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 1162. As previously reported, SB 1162 significantly expands pay reporting and disclosure requirements for most California employers. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, California employers must disclose pay ranges in job postings and make pay scale information available to current employees upon reasonable request. The … Continue Reading
On May 23, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion that will drastically increase the potential exposure for employers facing meal and rest break class actions. The court, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., ruled that employees who are entitled to meal or rest period premiums for denial of compliant meal or rest breaks … Continue Reading
The Decision On Jan. 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of California issued Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., No. S266001, ___ Cal. 5th ____, a decision that decisively changed the burden for employers in defending against claims under California’s general whistleblower statute — California Labor Code Section 1102.5. Since approximately 2000, California courts required that … Continue Reading
In 2021, the California Supreme Court handed down two important decisions, Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC and Ferra v. Loews Hollywood, LLC, that reinforce and refine tried and true lessons about meal and rest breaks. As California employers look ahead to their 2022 goals, compliance with these decisions should be top of mind. Donohue: Do … Continue Reading
In a significant victory for California agricultural employers, the Supreme Court recently held that California’s regulation requiring agricultural companies to permit union organizers on their property was an unconstitutional taking of private property without just compensation. Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, Case No. 20-107. The regulation permitted union organizers to remain on company property for … Continue Reading
On April 16, 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 93, which requires certain employers to rehire eligible employees who were previously laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To be eligible for recall, laid-off employees had to have been employed by the covered employer for six or more months in … Continue Reading
Have you heard of Schrödinger’s cat? It’s not a real cat, like Felix or Brian Setzer. It’s a hypothetical, seemingly impossible cat that exists only in the world of quantum physics. Schrödinger’s cat refers to a thought experiment in which a cat in a box is simultaneously alive and dead, until you open the box … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has concluded that the ABC Test it developed for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee applies retroactively. Therefore, the ABC Test, first developed in the Court’s Dynamex decision, applies to California wage and hour claims implicating a time period prior to issuance of the Dynamex decision on … Continue Reading
California passed a new law expanding family leave rights to employees working for employers with five to 50 employees. The family leave rights were previously limited to employees of employers with more than 50 employees. Under this new law, employees of small employers would be entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any … Continue Reading
Last week, California enacted a law, Assembly Bill (AB) 1867, providing supplemental COVID-19-related sick leave to food-sector workers and workers employed by a company with 500 or more employees nationwide. The law requires employers of such employees to provide sick leave – in addition to any other leave the employee may be entitled to – … Continue Reading
“To be or not to be” are the opening words of a soliloquy by Prince Hamlet. With that, I have exhausted what I remember about Shakespearean plays without consulting Wikipedia. Having consulted Wikipedia, I can confirm that this soliloquy occurs in Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1. A lot happens in Act III and beyond, and … Continue Reading
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has split with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and concluded that California’s statute to avoid strategic lawsuits against public participation (anti-SLAPP) does not apply in federal court. The initial impact of the decision is limited, as it would not have binding effect on California district courts. This decision … Continue Reading
With the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 forcing businesses to shut their doors for months, coupled with resulting furloughs and layoffs, California employers could use a helping hand. Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) has proposed new legislation to the California Legislature that could lend a helping hand to employers, especially smaller employers grappling with the impact … Continue Reading
Los Angeles has become the latest city to ban private employers from asking job applicants about their criminal histories before offering a job. With its Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, the city joins San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and about two dozen other cities, counties and states in enacting Ban the Box measures to promote … Continue Reading
On April 1, 2016, amendments to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) regulations will become effective. While the amendments bring the regulations into compliance with various recent statutory changes and case law interpretations, they also contain several new requirements that impact mandatory employer policies, trainings, and notices. New Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention Policy … Continue Reading
A California court of appeal has addressed a gap in California law to clarify what can be a tricky problem for employers — how to calculate overtime on bonuses of a fixed amount, or “flat sum” bonuses. The court’s answer can be summarized in three words: Follow federal law. The dispute in Hector Alvarado v. … Continue Reading
This BakerHostetler Alert was authored by: Vartan S. Madoyan, Barri L. Friedland, Diamond M. Hicks, and Sabrina L. Shadi As Californians get back to business in the new year, we wanted to highlight the following changes to California employment laws for 2015: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Protections Against Discrimination and Harassment for Unpaid Interns and Volunteers Protection Against Discrimination … Continue Reading
For companies using independent contractors in California, 2014 has been a difficult year, with several significant court decisions threatening the contractor model. In June, the Ninth Circuit rejected the parties’ choice of Georgia law in an independent contractor agreement and found that the contractor was an employee under California law. Later that month, the California … Continue Reading
The brain teaser game, What am I? can keep kids and adults occupied for hours: The more you take of me, the more I leave behind. What am I? I have a face but no eyes, hands but no arms. What am I? I disappear every time you say my name. What am I? (Don’t … Continue Reading