On September 15, 2021, in the case of Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., et al. v. Bonta, et al., No. 20-15291 (9th Cir. Sept. 15, 2021) (read the decision here), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision regarding the future of California’s AB 51, which regulates employer use of mandatory arbitration agreements. The Ninth […]

On June 15, 2021, in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the California Supreme Court held that the term “regular rate of compensation” means the same as the “regular rate of pay” and not the employee’s base hourly rate. This holding is important for California employers because it means that premiums for non-compliant rest, recovery and meal periods must be […]

On March 19, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 95, which requires California employers with 25 or more employees to provide additional supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons to their California workers. The obligation to provide the new paid leave begins on March 29, 2021, but requires retroactive pay back to January 1, 2021 to employees who took leave […]

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) opened its new Pay Data Reporting Portal on February 16, 2021 to assist employers in complying with California’s Pay Data Reporting Law that was enacted late last year. Under the new law (Govt. Code section 12999), private employers with 100 or more total employees, with at least one employee in California, […]

On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited opinion regarding whether its prior ruling adopting the “ABC Test” for determining independent contractor status applies retroactively. The Court answered in the affirmative, providing finality to a question that had been lingering for nearly three years. (Download a copy of the Supreme Court’s opinion here.) Relevant Background In April […]

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, California employers received guidance from a variety of State and federal agencies on the subject of whether, how and when employers can require employees to submit to viral testing for COVID-19. Adding an additional layer of complexity, on November 30, 2020, Cal/OSHA published emergency regulations that create a deluge of new obligations and […]

On September 17, 2020, California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 1383, which amends and expands the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) to apply to small California businesses. Beginning January 1, 2021, all California businesses with five (5) or more employees must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave. As explained below, SB 1383 expands the CFRA beyond […]

On September 9, 2020, California AB 1867 became effective. The new law, codified as Labor Code sections 248 and 248.1 requires employers with 500 or more employees to provide supplemental paid sick leave for their California workers.  The new law also applies to employers of health care providers and first responders excluded by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act […]

Free Online Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Workplace SB 1343 requires that all employers of 5 or more employees provide 1 hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to non-managerial employees and 2 hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to managerial employees once every two years. SB 1343 also requires the DFEH to […]

Many employers, especially in states neighboring California (like Nevada), have long dealt with the problem of whether California wage and hour law applies to work performed by their employees, when those employees perform work both inside and outside of California during a single pay period. Recently, the California Supreme Court issued two companion opinions that have helped to answer this […]