Washington is the latest state to enact a Mini-Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) law. Effective July 27, 2025, the Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act (SB 5525) imposes...more
6/2/2025
/ Business Closures ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exceptions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
New Legislation ,
Notification Requirements ,
Penalties ,
State Labor Laws ,
WARN Act ,
Washington
2023 was a seismic year for the employment landscape, with changes to state and federal laws that touch on hiring, firing, and just about everything in between. Members of Fenwick’s employment group recently walked through...more
2/1/2024
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology ,
Wage and Hour
Once a startup has properly classified its worker, it should document its relationship with the worker in order to clearly identify the classification, compensation and benefits (e.g., base salary, bonus, commissions, equity,...more
An important part of hiring employees is deciding how to compensate them. Because of limited capital, startups often implement equity-only compensation or deferred compensation arrangements in lieu of regular salaries....more
Effective August 1, 2023, employers participating in E-Verify in good standing have the option to conduct remote inspections of Form I-9 documents, pursuant to the federal Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new rule....more
8/7/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
On July 14, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an “investigative sweep” through inquiry letters sent to large California employers. The sweep seeks information on companies’ compliance with the California...more
7/24/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Ownership ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Covered Business ,
Covered Employer ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Personal Information ,
Privacy Policy ,
Regulatory Requirements
In May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the Form I-9 flexibilities allowing for remote verification will end on July 31, 2023. DHS regulations...more
7/3/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
On the heels of more than three years of legal challenges (summarized here) to California’s AB 51, which prohibits employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes under the state’s Labor Code and Fair Employment and...more
Join Fenwick’s Employment Practices Group for a 90-minute discussion of the legal developments and emerging trends that shaped 2022 then hear about the compliance recommendations, practical takeaways, and perspective on what...more
12/23/2022
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Proposed Rule on Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act -
On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule updating the...more
10/25/2022
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Reporting ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Marijuana ,
New York ,
Notice Requirements ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision (Dobbs), several states have already begun outlawing abortions and more states are expected to do so. Some states are also considering...more
7/15/2022
/ Abortion ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Pregnancy ,
Roe v Wade ,
State Labor Laws ,
Travel Reimbursements
On December 13, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), citing the Omicron variant and the need for additional protection during the holiday season, issued statewide guidance requiring face masks to be worn...more
[Editor’s Note (12/20/21): The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has lifted the Fifth Circuit’s injunction halting enforcement of the OSHA Standards, and, specifically, the mandate regarding vaccination or weekly...more
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a slew of new bills into law at the close of California’s legislative season. Below is a summary of the new employment laws, all of which take effect on January 1, 2022....more
11/10/2021
/ California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Classification ,
Employee Retention ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Wage Theft ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency standards to implement President Biden’s Vaccine/Testing Mandate for businesses with 100 or more...more
11/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Injunctions ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued its long-awaited ruling on the appeal of a California trial court’s injunction that prohibited the State of California from enforcing AB 51,...more
9/21/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Employment Practices Act ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctions ,
Labor Code ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws
California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal-OSHA) has released proposed revisions to its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). The revisions, key aspects of which are summarized in this alert,...more
6/16/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
CDPH ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Exceptions ,
Governor Newsom ,
Guidance Update ,
Masks ,
Required Documentation ,
Safety Standards ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations
In connection with Santa Clara County’s move into California’s yellow COVID-19 tier, the state’s lowest pandemic restriction level under its tier system, the county’s health officer updated its Health Order, effective May 19,...more
5/24/2021
/ Business Entities ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Contractors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Independent Contractors ,
Local Ordinance ,
Masks ,
New Regulations ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Required Documentation ,
State and Local Government ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
The California Supreme Court held on January 14, 2021, that its landmark Dynamex decision, which established a rigid standard under California law for companies to classify workers as independent contractors, and later was...more
1/21/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freelance Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
California Significantly Expands Family Rights Act -
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law SB 1383, which significantly expands the coverage and scope of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). CFRA,...more
10/21/2020
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Classification ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equity ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Training ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Outbreaks
Fenwick’s employment practices group has compiled the following checklist setting forth key considerations and emerging best practices that businesses should take into account when formulating a plan for employees’ return to...more
6/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sick Employees ,
Workplace Decontamination
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 decision in a trio of linked cases (Altitude Express v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity...more
6/18/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
By way of Executive Order, California Governor Gavin Newsom suspended, until the end of the COVID-19 emergency, enforcement of the state’s WARN Act in connection with mass layoffs or shutdowns caused by COVID-19, and which...more
Arbitration Agreements: Potential for a Reprieve from AB 51 -
As we reported last year, the California Legislature passed AB 51 in an effort to prohibit employers from requiring employees to arbitrate claims under the...more
2/25/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Security Checks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As outlined in our prior alert, a multitude of changes in New York employment law have either gone into effect or will be in effect soon. We encourage employers with New York operations to review our prior guidance,...more