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