Under California law, employers must pay their employees overtime rates unless an exemption applies. One such exemption, the “administrative” exemption, excludes from state overtime requirements an employee primarily engaged...more
This year has been fraught with disruption. To make things easier, Payne & Fears is offering one full day of seminars on pressing employment law topics. Attendees can join from the comfort of their homes or offices. Attend...more
9/24/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Layoffs ,
Misclassification ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars
On July 24, 2020, California released the Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening. The Employer Playbook provides detailed information for employers in an easy-to-read checklist format.
The majority of the document is...more
7/29/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Local Health Departments (LHDs) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Masks ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sick Employees ,
State Health Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Decontamination ,
Workplace Outbreaks ,
Workplace Safety
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance guidance for employers. The new guidance explains that antibody tests cannot be required from employees to re-enter the workplace, addresses...more
6/19/2020
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Health and Safety ,
High Risk Covid Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Testing ,
New Guidance ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Sick Employees ,
Title VII ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As counties move to re-open businesses, many counties have issued requirements for businesses to post notices regarding their compliance with safe re-opening protocols.
Orange County -
On May 29, 2020, and effective...more
On May 19, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance explaining how Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) will ensure employers’ compliance on recording cases of work-related...more
As workplaces have begun to reopen, employers are curious about whether they can conduct temperature screenings of their employees. This guidance will explain if, when, and how employers may conduct temperature screenings of...more
The EEOC recently updated its guidance, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, including several FAQs on reasonable accommodation and harassment. ...more
5/1/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Harassment ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Protected Class ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Workplace Safety
The EEOC continues to update its pandemic preparedness guidance regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and other Equal Employment Opportunity laws in the wake of COVID-19. The guidance...more
4/30/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Medical Testing ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
PHI ,
Pre-Employment Health Screenings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Decontamination ,
Workplace Safety
As many employers have one month of shelter in place behind them, they are now planning for the future. Please join us for a complimentary webinar focused on key issues facing employers as they prepare for the summer months...more
4/21/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Testing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Social Distancing ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) sets a 500-employee threshold for purposes of the emergency paid sick leave and family medical leave expansion provisions. Many employers raise the question of whether...more
3/31/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Joint Employers ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Small Business Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Threshold Requirements
In the wake of the COVID-19 virus, employers of all sizes are facing difficult decisions that need to be made without delay. To this end, we will be providing a series of alerts over the next few days to help employers...more
In April 2018, the Ninth Circuit held that employers cannot consider pre-employment salary history, even in combination with other factors, to justify gender pay disparities. See Rizo v. Yovino, 887 F.3d 453 (9th Cir. 2018)...more
3/3/2020
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
A growing number of state and local governments across the country are enacting laws that limit employers’ ability to ask about or consider applicants’ salary history. These laws are part of a nationwide effort to reduce pay...more
2/20/2020
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay Act ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Preemption ,
Race Discrimination ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Split of Authority ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws
This complimentary webinar will educate business owners, in-house counsel and human resources professionals on legislative and case law updates that will impact employment in California in 2020, including:
• The assault on...more
11/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Reimbursements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Webinars ,
Work Schedules
On October 10, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 9 into law, extending the statute of limitations for claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), California's comprehensive employment...more
Ever since the California Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision in Dynamex Operations W., Inc. v. Superior Ct., 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), we have been monitoring its application by the lower courts. On October 8,...more
10/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
IWC ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that a "wage and hour" exclusion in an employment practices liability insurance ("EPLI") policy must be narrowly interpreted to extend coverage for reimbursement claims brought...more
10/7/2019
/ Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Expenses ,
Class Action ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Practices Liability Coverage ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Remuneration ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, on May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, No. 17-16096, held that the California Supreme Court's landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc....more
8/21/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
On February 4, 2019, a divided panel of the California Court of Appeal held in Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., No. B280151, that employees scheduled for “on-call” or “call-in” shifts may be entitled to reporting time pay, even when...more
2/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Call-In Pay ,
Class Action ,
Demurrers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IWC ,
Mercantile Industry ,
On-Call Employees ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
This complimentary webinar will educate business owners, in-house counsel and human resources professionals on important court developments in 2018 and new legislation taking effect in 2019....more
On September 30, 2018, for the final time during his tenure as Governor, Governor Jerry Brown acted on a series of bills passed by the legislature that would have far-reaching consequences for employers. Though employers can...more
10/2/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Board of Directors ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Woman Board Members
On August 22, 2018, the California Senate voted to approve AB 3080, a bill prompted by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Nominally, the bill is intended to combat the use of mandatory arbitration agreements and...more
8/23/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Personal Liability ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights
The Salary History Ban -
As Payne & Fears LLP previously reported, in October 2017 Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 168 which amended California's Equal Pay Act to prohibit California employers from: (1)...more
The California Fair Employment and Housing Council has published an amended Regulation on national origin discrimination, which will take effect on July 1, 2018. In addition to defining "national origin" and providing...more