Today, March 19, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20 requiring all individuals living in California to “stay home or at their place of residence except as necessary to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.”  Individuals are permitted to leave their homes for necessities such as obtaining food, prescriptions and health care, but are required to practice social distancing during any such excursions.  Essential services will remain open, including,…

As we reported yesterday, cities and counties across California are issuing orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. Since our last post, Orange County and the City of Palm Springs have joined the list. Orange County’s Public Health Order, which took effect March 17, 2020, prohibits social gatherings and requires bars and other establishments that serve alcohol but not food to close.  It further provides that businesses must implement social distancing and enhanced…

This morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order that allows a California employer that is conducting layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic to use the newly-created “unforeseen business circumstances” exception to the state’s WARN Act requirements. More specifically, the order indicates that: Mass layoffs, relocations or closures fall under the newly-created “unforeseen business circumstances” exception to the law, but California employers must still provide notice under the WARN Act requirement as soon as…

In the last few days, California’s most populous cities and counties have issued broad-sweeping guidelines to businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19 through enhanced social distancing measures.  These orders, most of which last through the end of March or early April, vary significantly in scope and severity. On March 15, 2020, the City of Los Angeles issued an order requiring the following businesses to cease normal operations, beginning on March 16th, subject to very…

We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2020 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Time Spent By Employees In Exit Searches Is Compensable Prior Pay Is Not A Defense To An Equal Pay Act Claim Constructive Termination And Joint Employer Claims Were Properly Dismissed Gay CHP Officer May Have Been Constructively Terminated Security Guard Did Not Sexually Harass …

Hance v. Super Store Indus., 44 Cal. App. 5th 676 (2020) The attorneys who represented the employees in a class action filed a motion with the trial court for approval of a settlement of the action and also for an award of attorneys’ fees and a division of those fees among the lawyers in accordance with a fee division agreement that had been worked out among the lawyers. One of the lawyers challenged the fee…

Grande v. Eisenhower Med. Ctr., 44 Cal. App. 5th 1147 (2020) Lynn Grande was assigned through a temporary staffing agency (FlexCare) to work as a nurse at Eisenhower Medical Center. Grande was a named plaintiff in a class action prosecuted against FlexCare in which she alleged she had not received her required meal and rest breaks, wages for certain periods she had worked and overtime wages. A year after FlexCare settled with the class (including…