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
In the past few months, federal, state, and local governments have rapidly and constantly proliferated laws, orders, and guidance for conducting business in light of COVID-19. Unless a business has personnel dedicated to...more
7/21/2020
/ California ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
OSHA ,
Paid Sick Leave Act ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
State Labor Laws
This promises to be the year that requires businesses to be highly adaptable in meeting staffing needs while supporting employees with school-age children. In today’s press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced schools in...more
7/20/2020
/ Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Paid Leave ,
Parental Leave ,
Public Health ,
Public Schools ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
School Closures ,
Virtual Education Tools
Statewide Restrictions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the closure of certain indoor businesses across the entire state of California. He has also placed additional restrictions on 30 counties, including Orange, Los...more
7/16/2020
/ Bars ,
Breweries ,
Business Closures ,
Churches ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Newsom ,
Gym Memberships ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Personal Services ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Shelter-In-Place
Los Angeles County has been the epicenter of COVID-19 in California, and it is only getting worse. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LA Department of Public Health) recently announced that daily...more
7/2/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Guidance Update ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Over the past few months, guidance on how to create a safer, low-risk workplace has frequently changed. Fortunately, the state of California has finally reached a point where comprehensive and concrete advice is now...more
6/26/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Virus Testing ,
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
On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into legislation the bipartisan bill titled the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA). The PPPFA modifies the Paycheck Protection Program, which was first...more
6/15/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans ,
Tax Deferral
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
On April 29, 2020, the City of Los Angeles adopted the COVID-19 Right of Recall Ordinance and COVID-19 Worker Retention Ordinance. On May 3, 2020 Mayor Eric Garcetti approved the ordinances. Both ordinances go into effect on...more
5/18/2020
/ Airports ,
Change of Control ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Exemptions ,
Hotels ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Right of Recall ,
Subsequent Purchasers ,
Successor Liability ,
Waiver of Rights
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 Department of Labor (“DOL”) has the authority to exempt small businesses from providing paid leave benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act if it “would jeopardize the viability of the business as a...more
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
Precautionary protective orders, including shelter in place orders, are not a qualifying reason for Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act ("EPSLA") benefits set forth in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act....more
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
On January 31, 2020, Judge Kimberly Mueller issued a preliminary injunction "in full" preventing the State of California from enforcing AB 51, the state's new law effectively banning mandatory employee arbitration...more
2/5/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
DFEH ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
On December 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in Caesars Entertainment holding that businesses may restrict employees from using a company’s internal email systems for union and...more
1/10/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Email ,
Email Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
Facially Neutral Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Purple Communications ,
Retroactive Application ,
Reversal ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
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