California Employment Law

Commentary on Issues Facing California Employers

Latest from California Employment Law

COVID-19 Resources for Employers

March 31, 2020

Keeping up with the deluge of COVID-19 laws, regulations, interpretive guidelines, and the like is quite a challenge for employers. You need to react to constantly changing circumstances and do so in a way that gives your company the best possible chance to succeed. We have created a Coronavirus Resource page to help. We’ve not only created it, but we’re updating it constantly and you can subscribe to updates. What can you find there?…

California Employment Law

Los Angeles Fills FFCRA Sick Leave Gaps

By Nancy Yaffe

March 29, 2020

The Los Angeles City Council passed an Ordinance on Friday that fills some key gaps left open by the FFRCA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act). If you don’t know about the FFCRA yet, please visit our Coronavirus Resources page to read all about it. This Supplemental Sick Leave Ordinance (“LA Supp Sick Ord”) provides 80 hours of paid sick leave, in addition to the 48 hours already provided to employees of larger businesses within the…

California Employment Law

COVID-19 Employment Law Issues (Friday the 13th Edition)

By Jeffrey D. Polsky

March 13, 2020

One of my favorite things about California employment law is that it changes constantly. But this coronavirus situation changes minute to minute, and that’s hard to keep up with. Here are resources to help you stay current. Here’s a link to various sites that contain information – some by Fox Rothschild LLP, some by government agencies. One of the resources you’ll find there is a list of answers to many of the questions employers have…

California Employment Law

Free Webinar on Coronavirus Issues in the Workplace

By Sahara Pynes

March 10, 2020

With the rapidly evolving landscape, new issues arise daily for employers. Join our Labor & Employment and Hospitality teams, on March 12th at 12pm pacific time, for a Q&A format webinar on addressing COVID-19 concerns at work. While the focus will be on customer-facing industries such as hospitality and retail, most guidance is applicable to all. Register here and we look forward to you joining us.…

California Employment Law

Novel Workplace Issues Addressing Novel Coronavirus

By Sahara Pynes

March 2, 2020

With cases of COVID-19, or novel Coronavirus, at 87 and rising in the United States, communities are bracing for widespread impact. Here are some issues for consideration in managing wellness (and fear) in the workplace: Protecting Employees Reduce or cancel non-essential business travel (especially international). Monitor relevant travel advisories and consider work-from-home arrangements upon return from travel. Employees may refuse to travel under OSHA in certain circumstances. Limit attendance at large conferences, if not already…

California Employment Law

Yes, Waiting in Line to Exit Through Security is Hours Worked

By Nancy Yaffe

February 27, 2020

A recent ruling confirmed that the time an employee spends waiting in line for a security check is considered “hours worked” in California and must be paid. The California Supreme Court ruling applies even though the employees choose to bring in bags to work. Put another way, the employees could skip the line by not bringing a bag, a purse, or even a phone to work. This ruling is not surprising. Clients from out of…

California Employment Law

Whistleblower Protections: Don’t Fire the Messenger!

By Nancy Yaffe

February 20, 2020

One of the hottest issues in employment law is Whistleblowing. Did you ever wonder why the President can fire people who testify against him, but a California employer would be sued in a hot minute for doing so? Or why certain high profile figures can be “handsy” or “flirty” (or way more) and get away with it, but others are being “outed” by victims with time-barred claims, crushed with job loss, litigation (and maybe even…

California Employment Law

Court Gives California Independent Contractor Law AB-5 The Green Light

By Sahara Pynes

February 10, 2020

Gig economy giants Uber and Postmates failed to convince U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee that she should grant an injunction to prevent enforcement of AB-5. While seeking to halt enforcement of AB-5, the companies concurrently contend that the law does not apply to their drivers. In case you’re just tuning in, AB-5 creates a legal presumption that all workers in California should be employees unless they pass a stringent ABC test or fall into a…

California Employment Law

Judge Explains Reasons for Banning Enforcement of AB 51 and Preserving Workplace Arbitration in California

By Jeffrey D. Polsky

February 10, 2020

AB 51, which restricts workplace arbitration, was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2020. On December 30, 2019, US District Judge Kimberly Mueller granted a temporary restraining order to prevent the legislation from taking effect. On January 31, 2020, she issued a preliminary injunction extending the ban, and promised to explain her reasoning in more detail later. On February 6, 2020, she provided that more detailed explanation. AB 51 made it unlawful…

California Employment Law

Court Grants Injunction to Stop AB 51 — Mandatory Arbitration Still OK in CA

By Nancy Yaffe

February 3, 2020

Here is the latest in a series of blogs about AB 51, the California bill that threatened mandatory arbitration. Thankfully, the District Court granted the preliminary injunction in full (not just temporarily), and stopped AB 51 from being enforced. That means that as long as the arbitration agreement is governed by the FAA (Federal Arbitration Act), it can still be mandatory. The Court promised a more detailed ruling with its analysis, which we will post…

California Employment Law

Commentary on Issues Facing California Employers

Blog Authors

COVID-19 Resources for Employers

Los Angeles Fills FFCRA Sick Leave Gaps

COVID-19 Employment Law Issues (Friday the 13th Edition)

Free Webinar on Coronavirus Issues in the Workplace

Novel Workplace Issues Addressing Novel Coronavirus

Yes, Waiting in Line to Exit Through Security is Hours Worked

Whistleblower Protections: Don’t Fire the Messenger!

Court Gives California Independent Contractor Law AB-5 The Green Light

Judge Explains Reasons for Banning Enforcement of AB 51 and Preserving Workplace Arbitration in California

Court Grants Injunction to Stop AB 51 — Mandatory Arbitration Still OK in CA

Stay Connected

Company

Support

New to the Network