Many employers enforce attendance policies which assign an “occurrence” for unscheduled, unapproved absences. Although employers generally have discretion to implement attendance policies, such policies should be carefully...more
Many employers offer light duty programs to employees who are temporarily disabled. Reasonable accommodation obligations imposed by California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) may come into play when administering...more
4/18/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Reassignment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
FEHA ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
Public Employees ,
Workplace Injury
The California legislature is off to a quick start with a large number of labor and employment law proposals. Currently, 71 bills propose to amend the California Labor Code, and several additional bills seek to modify...more
The California minimum wage is scheduled to increase on January 1, 2017 to $10.50 per hour for businesses employing 26 or more employees. Small employers with 25 or fewer employees will not see an increase until 2018....more
The California legislature and governor showed no signs of slowing down this year and enacted a long list of new employment laws. Below is a list of the most significant laws affecting private sector employers....more
Time clock rounding is a longstanding employer practice whereby employers round employee starting and stopping times to the nearest five minutes, or to the nearest one-tenth or quarter of an hour. Is the practice legal? For...more
Voters will have the opportunity this coming November to determine whether California joins a growing number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana. If so, what would this mean for employers?...more
On July 26, the San Diego City Council ratified a minimum wage and sick pay ordinance approved by voters on June 7. Effective as of July 11, the ordinance imposes a citywide minimum wage rate and also obligates businesses to...more
7/27/2016
/ Amended Legislation ,
City Councils ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Posting Requirements ,
San Diego ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Voters in the city of San Diego overwhelmingly supported a June 7 ballot measure that imposes a citywide minimum wage and also obligates businesses to provide sick pay benefits to employees. Employers with workforces in San...more
California lawmakers have proposed a number of employment and labor law bills during the current legislative session. Most significantly, Senate Bill 3, the bill to increase California’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022,...more
When must rest breaks occur, and may a company allow employees to combine their rest breaks with other breaks? California’s nuanced meal and rest break rules have spawned an endless cycle of litigation, and as a recent...more
On April 4, 2016, Governor Brown—as expected—signed a bill to raise the state minimum wage rate to $15.00 per hour by 2022. The new law will increase the minimum wage for large and small businesses according to two schedules...more
On March 31, 2016, the California legislature approved the nation’s highest statewide minimum wage. SB-3, approved in both the State Senate and Assembly, will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2022. ...more
According to media and government reports, California lawmakers have struck a deal with labor unions to increase the statewide minimum wage to $15.00 per hour over several years.
The deal was reached on March 26, 2016...more
San Diego City Council members voted on February 8 to place a sick pay and minimum wage ordinance on the June 7 ballot.
If approved by voters, the ordinance would require an immediate local minimum wage rate increase...more
California employers are preparing for the effects the Fair Pay Act—the new law signed by Governor Brown last October that significantly changes California’s gender equality pay law. Senate Bill 358 (SB 358), which went into...more
In 2015, the California legislature undoubtedly took aim at employers with piecemeal legislation covering everything from cheerleaders (who are now employees by statute) to gender-based pay differentials—the latter with what...more
12/15/2015
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
DLSE ,
E-Verify ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
FEHA ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Minimum Wage ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
In the past few months, a number of state and local developments have emerged that are likely to resonate across the country. The following is a tour of some of the most recent and significant state-specific legislation,...more
It is generally understood that an employer may not retaliate against an employee for “whistleblowing” and alerting authorities that a business has engaged in unlawful activity. Is an employee also protected against...more
Companies that classify workers as independent contractors are facing increasing scrutiny in court and before administrative agencies. A recent unpublished California Court of Appeal decision in a case titled Garcia v. Seacon...more
The California Fair Pay Act (FPA), a state law that codifies the principle that an employee is entitled to equal pay for equal work without regard to gender, has been amended with the passage of Senate Bill 358 (SB 358),...more
A controversial bill to increase California’s minimum wage has failed to pass in the state legislature. The bill would have phased in a $3.00 per hour increase to the minimum wage rate and also would have imposed annual cost...more
In response to standard negative performance feedback from a supervisor, an employee takes a leave of absence due to stress and submits a medical note stating that the employee must be transferred to another department as an...more
8/24/2015
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Disability ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Performance Reviews ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Supervisors ,
Sutter Health ,
Work-Induced Stress
On July 16, 2015, California’s Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill amending the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), adding protections for workers who request accommodations for disabilities or religious...more
California Governor Brown signed legislation on July 13, 2015 that aims to clarify and improve California’s new paid sick leave law that requires employers to offer employees 3 days or 24 hours of paid sick leave per year as...more