On January 9, 2024, the federal Department of Labor (DOL) announced the issuance of a final rule for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The new rule is a culmination of a months-long process, which began with the announcement of the proposed rule in October 2022, followed by a […]

The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently released updated guidance to help employers comply with new requirements starting on January 1, 2024 related to California’s mandatory paid sick leave law. Pursuant to SB 616, starting January 1, 2024, California’s mandatory paid sick leave time available to employees increases from three days or 24 hours to five days or 40 […]

Last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S. Ct. 1906 (2022) offered California employers a glimmer of hope in the often-gloomy world of Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) litigation. In Viking River, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempted otherwise binding California case law precluding division of PAGA actions into individual and […]

When the U.S. Supreme Court published its decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S. Ct. 1906 (2022) in June 2022 (read our blog here) holding that individual claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) must be arbitrated if a valid arbitration agreement between the parties exists, it left several unanswered questions. One of these questions is […]

On February 15, 2023, a divided US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempts California’s Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”), a 2019 measure that prohibited employers from requiring job applicants or workers to sign arbitration pacts. The 9th Circuit’s ruling means that it is lawful for most employers to require employees […]

There are three major recent developments that affect California workplace arbitration agreements. The first is the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021,” a federal law which prohibits employers from enforcing pre-dispute agreements that require arbitration of sexual assault and harassment claims. The second development is the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 15, 2022 decision in […]

Recently the United States Supreme Court in a held that California employers may include provisions in their arbitration agreements that require employees to bring only individual PAGA claims in separate arbitrations, rather than as a group in one case. In this new podcast recording, SHLC Attorneys Brett Sutton and Jared Hague discuss this important new case and its implications for […]

Important changes are on the horizon for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that would have an enormous impact on union elections in the US.   Employers who want to remain union free need to understand these changes and adopt a more proactive approach to educating their workforce. In a podcast posted on CalNevaLaw Podcast posted on April 23, 2022, SHLC […]

On May 23, 2022, after a nearly two-and-a-half year wait, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. The decision answers a very important question for California employers: May a California employee pursue so-called “paystub penalties” and “waiting time penalties” due to a failure to pay or report meal and/or rest […]

On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed H.R. 4445, known as the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.” H.R. 4445 amends the Federal Arbitration Act to bar pre-dispute arbitration agreements of claims alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment, and includes a bar against any waivers of the right to bring such claims jointly and/or […]