New COVID-19 prevention regulations for California workplaces will become effective no later than January 14, 2023. The new COVID-19 Non-Emergency Prevention Standards contain significant changes as compared to the current...more
Three bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last week once again modify employers’ obligations to California employees who are exposed to or contract COVID-19. The most important aspects of this round of mutations in...more
The COVID-19 rules for California workplaces have changed once again, statewide. Now in effect, the newest version of Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) make changes of importance to all employers,...more
By a hard-hitting 6-3 majority last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court barred the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from implementing or enforcing its new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). ...more
Restaurants, bars and nightclubs in some of the most populous cities and counties in California must now verify that customers are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before allowing them in. The requirements potentially place...more
11/12/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customers ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Notice Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Security ,
Social Media ,
Vaccinations ,
Venue ,
Websites
As of Monday, restaurants, bars, malls, gyms, yoga studios, movie theaters, sports arenas, hair salons and many other businesses in Los Angeles must begin requiring that patrons show proof of vaccination for COVID-19 before...more
11/5/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Enforcement ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Local Ordinance ,
Masks ,
Movie Theaters ,
Recreation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Vaccine Passports
California’s new COVID-19 prevention regulations adopted today allow employers greater freedom in some respects and impose new burdens in others. The regulations adopted by the Cal/OSHA Standards Board go into effect any day...more
New Cal/OSHA COVID-19 prevention regulations — set to go into effect no later than June 15 — were withdrawn late Wednesday by the Cal/OSHA Standards Board. The move took employers who had been preparing for weeks to comply...more
New mandatory COVID-19 prevention protocols are coming from Cal/OSHA, but not quite as soon as expected. The vote to adopt revised regulations governing COVID-19 protocols in California workplaces has been postponed until an...more
5/28/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Governor Newsom ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Employers in the hotel, event center, airport and private club sectors and those providing services to commercial buildings must now give employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic preferential recall rights...more
4/20/2021
/ Airports ,
Business Interruption ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DLSE ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Layoffs ,
Right of Recall ,
State Labor Laws
Beginning Monday, March 29, 2021, employers must begin providing California employees a new form of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. The new version reaches small and large employers alike and mandates that employers...more
3/24/2021
/ Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Governor Newsom ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Written Notice
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is an enormous and intricate piece of legislation that has direct consequence for employers.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, ARPA mandates several important...more
3/16/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Hospitality Industry ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paid Leave ,
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits
Starting Monday, grocery stores, drug stores and big box retailers in the City of Los Angeles will be required to pay “Premium Hazard Pay” – an additional $5.00 per hour — to non-exempt employees. The ordinance mandating the...more
3/8/2021
/ California ,
Civil Liability ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hazard Pay ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Premium Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour
Although restaurants may now resume outdoor dining in Los Angeles County, the devil, as they say, is in the details. Along with giving restaurants the go ahead for outdoor dining service as of last Friday, the County Public...more
Newly posted FAQs bring employers welcome help in understanding what they need to do to satisfy Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Temporary COVID-19 Standards (ETS). These are key takeaways from the nearly 40 new FAQs posted on January 8,...more
As the sun rises on New Year’s Day 2021, California employment law will once again become more involved and challenging. For many employers, the following are the top five developments they most need to prepare for...more
As an unprecedented operation begins to deploy millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, employers question whether they may lawfully require that employees be vaccinated. Today, the U.S. Equal Opportunity...more
12/17/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
FAQs released yesterday by the State of California are must-read guidance for employers in complying with Cal/OSHA’s new Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulation. Employers should make distilling from the FAQs what is...more
The Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulation adopted by Cal/OSHA late this month will go into effect as early as Monday, November 30, 2020. When it becomes effective, the regulation will be the most sweeping and demanding...more
11/25/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
On November 19, 2020, the board responsible for issuing Cal/OSHA regulations will vote on whether to adopt what would be the first Cal/OSHA regulation of employers concerning COVID-19, in particular. If adopted, the...more
Employers in California are subject to a layer cake of requirements to report suspected and diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in their workforce. Federal, state and local agencies each impose obligations differing from one to the...more
Effective January 1, 2021, California employers must report to their workforces instances in which employees may have been exposed to COVID-19 and to local public health departments any “outbreak” of three or more employees...more
Newly signed legislation makes it easier and faster for employees to obtain workers compensation benefits for contracting COVID-19. The statutes, which went into effect on Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of SB 1159 on...more
Anticipation mounts as we watch for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s action on bills of immediate importance to employers. The Governor has until September 30, 2020 to sign or veto the following bills of concern:
SB 1383...more
9/14/2020
/ California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
DLSE ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
In meaningful numbers, employers across the U.S. who are rebuilding their workforces are being sued by employees not recalled from COVID furloughs and applicants not hired. Last week, I posted an Alert describing the risks to...more