Beginning March 29, 2021, California employers with more than 25 employees nationally will have to pay their California employees with up to 80 hours of COVID-19–related paid leave. On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom...more
On March 4, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) updated its “DFEH Employment Information on COVID-19” to include answers to some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) about vaccinations. ...more
3/18/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Interactive Process ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Vaccinations
On March 15, 2021, the City Council of West Hollywood added new categories of workers to its existing hero pay mandate of $5.00 per hour worked for large-chain grocery store employees. The new ordinance goes into effect on...more
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently updated its “Guide to COVID-19 Related Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]” to include wage and hour issues and vaccinations. If an employer requires employees to...more
On March 1, 2021, the City Council of San Mateo, California, adopted “An Emergency Ordinance Requiring Large Grocery Stores and Large Drugstores to Provide Hazard Pay to their Employees” to ease the burdens caused by the...more
3/17/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Essential Workers ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pharmacies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On March 1, 2021, the City Council of Pomona, California, passed an ordinance that establishes premium pay for retail food workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pomona is an incorporated city located in Los Angeles County and...more
3/12/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Essential Workers ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour
On March 2, 2021, the City Council of Santa Ana, California, passed an urgency ordinance establishing premium pay for grocery and retail pharmacy workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange...more
3/12/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Essential Workers ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Pharmacies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On February 25, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion for preliminary injunction brought by the California Grocers Association (CGA) against the City of Long Beach. In California...more
3/8/2021
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Protection ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Constitutions ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
Trade Associations ,
Wage and Hour
On February 16, 2021, the City Council of San Leandro, California, passed an ordinance titled “Retail Food Worker Hazard Pay Ordinance,” which establishes premium pay for retail food workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. San...more
2/25/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Essential Workers ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Pharmacies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On February 23, 2021, the City Council of Irvine, California, passed a hero pay ordinance entitling retail grocery store and drug store workers premium pay for hours worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Irvine is located in...more
2/25/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Essential Workers ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pharmacies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On February 16, 2021, the City Council of West Hollywood, California, passed an urgency ordinance establishing premium pay for grocery workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. West Hollywood is located in central Los Angeles...more
On January 27, 2021, the City Council of Montebello, California, passed an ordinance titled “Premium Pay for Grocery and Drug Store Workers Ordinance.” Montebello is an incorporated city located in Los Angeles County,...more
On February 10, 2021, the City Council of Coachella, California, passed the “Premium Pay for Agricultural, Grocery, Restaurant, and Retail Pharmacy Workers Ordinance.” Coachella is located in Riverside County, California....more
On February 2, 2021, the City Council of Oakland, California, passed the “Grocery Worker Hazard Pay Emergency Ordinance” to provide a boost in pay for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Oakland is located in...more
On February 9, 2021, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to extend the time period for employees to use San Francisco Public Health Emergency Leave. The Board first enacted the Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance...more
On January 8, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) released an updated version of its frequently asked questions (FAQs) guidance, entitled “COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards...more
On January 8, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued an updated version of its frequently asked questions (FAQs) guidance, “COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards Frequently Asked...more
On December 16, 2020, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) issued Order of the Health Officer No. C19-17 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases that the department said could quickly “overwhelm hospitals” in the...more
On November 19, 2020, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, the standards-setting agency of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), adopted an emergency standard...more
On October 6, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again revised its list of individuals whose risk factors make them more likely to develop severe illness from COVID-19.
First, the CDC...more
On September 1, 2020, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed the Sacramento County Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act of 2020. The county appears to have modeled its new law on the City of Sacramento’s own...more
On September 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 685 into law, enacting California Labor Code Section 6409.6 and amending other state statutes. As explained further below, Section 6409.6 obligates...more
On September 9, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) 1867, which requires large employers and some health care providers to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave for COVID-19–related...more
On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) partially ended the mystery of when and how it would respond to the August 3, 2020, decision from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New...more
9/15/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Required Documentation ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On July 7, 2020, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted an emergency ordinance to establish supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons. The ordinance took effect on July 8, 2020, and will remain in...more