For more than 20 years now, California employers have had to deal with a liability risk unique to the Golden State—the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (better known as PAGA).  PAGA provides for a special type of lawsuit, in which current or former employees act as a “deputy” or “representative” for the Labor Commissioner.  In this role, the employees […]

This week, a California Court of Appeal issued a ruling, which provides helpful guidance for employers dealing with non-supervisor sexual harassment occurring away from the workplace. In Kruitbosch v. Bakersfield Recovery Services, the court held that while the harasser’s conduct could not be imputed to the employer (BRS), BRS’s deficient response to the affected employee’s complaint, as alleged, created a […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

On February 9, 2022, Governor Newsom signed SB 114 into law, which requires California employers with 26 or more employees to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave for qualifying COVID-19-related reasons (“2022 SPSL”). The obligation to provide the new paid sick leave begins on February 19, 2022. As before, employers must also provide retroactive pay from January […]