As we reported on June 30, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to adopt a Healthcare Workers Minimum Wage Ordinance, which was designed to increase the minimum wage for workers of private healthcare...more
Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) actions are the proverbial boogeyman to California employers. On June 15, 2022, the United States Supreme Court reined in some of this statute’s bite by holding that “aggrieved...more
In the words of Tom Cruise’s character Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men, “the hits keep on coming.” This quote crystallizes how California employers will undoubtedly feel following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in...more
6/2/2022
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Code ,
Pre-Judgment Interest ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Since the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC in 2014, it has been widely understood that Private Attorneys’ General Act (“PAGA”) actions cannot be subject to employment...more
On the same day that the United States Supreme Court imposed a stay of enforcement on OSHA’s vaccine mandate for private employers with over 100 employees, the Court ruled that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
1/20/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Following an expedited hearing on January 7, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for stay of enforcement of OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard that would have been...more
On January 5, 2022, Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health modified its ongoing COVID-19 health order due to drastic increases in cases and resultant hospitalizations related to the Omicron and Delta variants. Among...more
Businesses and attorneys alike have kept a close eye on the developments surrounding the challenge to California Assembly Bill 51 (now codified as Labor Code section 432.6). Most recently, in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit...more
12/28/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws
Since being enacted in 2004, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has been a proverbial bogeyman for employers in California. Despite having only a one-year look-back period, PAGA claims commonly inflate plaintiff’s...more
For much of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have been frustrated by the lack of notice regarding important mandates issues by different public health officials at all levels of state and local government. Senate Bill 336 is...more
Since the turn of the century, the judicial and legislative branches in California have added barrier after barrier to employers who have consciously sought arbitration; an oft-stated “preferred” method of resolution. The...more
COVID-19 has had a unique and continued impact on health and safety requirements in the workplace. As a result, laws are being revised to catch up to the current work climate....more
11/19/2021
/ Amended Legislation ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Exemptions ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Labor Code ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
“It is the intent of the Legislature to afford all Californians, regardless of whether they have disabilities, with protections to ensure equal pay and equal treatment in the workplace.” These are the closing words of the...more
In 2013 the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1386, which amended Labor Code section 98.2, giving the Labor Commissioner additional means to collect wages and penalties on behalf of workers. Labor Code section 98.2...more
In a year of tough decisions for California employers, the Ninth Circuit just issued another mixed bag of legal decisions to navigate, this time regarding the enforceability of mandatory arbitration agreements.
CA Labor...more
On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed two Executive Orders imposing sweeping new vaccine mandates on federal workers and contractors. This new mandate represents a shift in the White House’s policy on vaccinations,...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Private Sector ,
Public Sector ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Since 2019, California employers have relied on Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, 40 Cal.App.5th 1239, for the proposition that only hourly wages would be used to calculate “premium pay” for meal or rest breaks under Labor...more
7/20/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Premium Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
As technology has advanced, employers routinely rely on electronic timekeeping software to ensure accurate record keeping. Such software often includes a setting to round employees’ time (typically to the nearest quarter...more
5/10/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour