On October 13, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 51 into law, banning most employment arbitration agreements in California starting January 1, 2020. This new law is expansive in scope but short...more
10/17/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
With the usual flurry of activity at the end of the legislative session, California has enacted a slew of bills with labor and employment ramifications....more
10/14/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Apprenticeships ,
Arbitration ,
Bias ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Leave of Absence ,
New Legislation ,
Printed Publications ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As employers in the Golden State attempt to prepare for the brave new world—courtesy of AB 5—that will greet them on New Year’s Day, federal and state courts in California continue to grapple with the scope and purpose of the...more
10/14/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified to the Supreme Court of California the question of whether that court’s landmark 2018 decision in Dynamex v. Superior Court should be applied...more
9/26/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Process ,
Dynamex ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Question of Law ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), a bill that will dramatically alter whether, and under what circumstances, businesses may classify workers as independent contractors...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law sweeping legislation—Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5)—that will dramatically reshape the contours of California’s workforce and economy, and potentially...more
9/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Every year, there are numerous state laws and local ordinances that take effect after the first of the year — and 2019 is no exception. Indeed, if anything, this year has seen a dramatic surge in the number of measures...more
6/14/2019
/ Breastfeeding ,
COBRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Security ,
Employee Microchipping ,
Equal Pay ,
Franchises ,
Health Insurance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Smoking Bans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Wage Theft
Voters in Oakland, California recently approved ballot "Measure Z," titled the "Oakland Minimum Wage Charter Amendment." The measure imposes new minimum wages and employment standards for some hotel workers, authorizes the...more
The September 30, 2018 deadline has come and gone for Governor Jerry Brown to evaluate the bills passed by the California legislature this year. In his last hurrah, Governor Brown has signed into law a jaw-dropping number of...more
10/2/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Breastfeeding ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Records ,
Equal Pay ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Human Trafficking ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Brokers ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Gap ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sales Commissions ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many states have been making concerted efforts to address and prevent sexual harassment through proposed legislation. On July 9, California Governor Jerry Brown signed one of those...more
Every year state laws and local ordinances take effect after the first of the year, and 2018 is no exception. As always, Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) has been tracking these developments....more
6/13/2018
/ 529 Plans ,
Arbitration ,
Association Health Plans ,
Ban the Box ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Distracted Driving ,
Franchises ,
Health Insurance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preemption ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Smoking Bans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour
As discussed in our prior article, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed several significant labor and employment measures into law in California, including a statewide ban-the-box provision and an expansion of parental leave...more
10/23/2017
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Health Insurance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Independent Contractors ,
Jerry Brown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Pay Gap ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Single-Payer ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tips ,
Transparency ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Work Schedules
The October 15, 2017 deadline has come and gone for Governor Jerry Brown to weigh the bills passed by the California legislature this year. Governor Brown has now signed into law a jaw-dropping number of bills that pertain to...more
10/17/2017
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Trafficking ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Parental Leave ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
On October 12, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed into law a state-wide ban on employer inquiries into an individual’s salary history. The new law (AB 168) will apply to all employers, including state and local...more