The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently passed the Los Angeles County Fair Workweek Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which generally requires that certain retail employers in the unincorporated areas of the County of...more
Unfortunately, incidents of workplace violence are taking place with increasing frequency. In an effort to give employers additional tools to combat these issues, the California Legislature has given us Senate Bill 553...more
Passed in 2022 and effective January 1, 2024, Assembly Bill 2188 creates Government Code section 12954 to make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of...more
11/17/2023
/ Cannabis Products ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws ,
THC
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released an updated “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster that must be prominently displayed in the workplace. The poster...more
Under Assembly Bill 1003, which becomes effective on January 1, 2022, the intentional theft of wages in an amount greater than $950 from any one employee, or $2,350 in the aggregate from 2 or more employees, by an employer in...more
On January 1, 2023, Senate Bill 62, the Garment Worker Protection Act, will become effective, making California the first state to ban piece rate pay for garment workers. SB 62 prohibits any “employee engaged in the...more
12/3/2021
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fashion Industry ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Retailers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On June 3, 2021, AB-257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (the “FAST Act”) was defeated in the California Assembly, coming up three votes short of the 41 votes needed.
The FAST Act would have...more
7/1/2021
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Labor Standards Enforcement ,
Oversight Committee ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On June 3, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board approved new modified COVID-19-related emergency regulations. The new modified regulations, which are found here, will need to be approved by the...more
By January 1, 2021, all California employers with five or more employees are required to have provided interactive harassment prevention training to all employees in California, both supervisory and...more
Senate Bill 850, also referred to as the Fair Scheduling Act of 2020, would require grocery stores, restaurants and retail stores to provide employees with 21-day work schedules, at least seven calendar days in...more
I have been asked by more than one frustrated California employer how to avoid or reduce employment lawsuits. It is not easy question to answer as there are many variables that go into generating employment law claims....more
12/13/2019
/ Audits ,
Background Checks ,
Best Management Practices ,
Corporate Culture ,
Discipline ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Leadership ,
Performance Reviews ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Strategic Planning ,
Training
Assembly Bill 749 is an unnecessary law that will only serve to incentivize more lawsuits between former employees and employers. Effective on January 1, 2020, AB 749 will prohibit an agreement to settle an employment dispute...more
In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the California Court of Appeal considered the method for determining the amount of the one hour of pay at the employee’s “regular rate of compensation” for each workday in which an...more
Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill 51 will prohibit employers from requiring employees to waive forum or procedure rights under the Fair Employment and Housing Act or the Labor Code in favor of arbitration as a...more
On August 30, 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 1804, which requires employers to immediately report any serious occupational illness, injury or death to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, by...more
On September 18, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5, thereby establishing a law that purports to prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors and provide “basic rights and protections they...more
9/20/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
What happens when legislative efforts are met with focused pressure from a variety of industries, civic groups and professional lobbyists? Witness pending Assembly Bill 5, a hopelessly confusing mixture rules and exceptions...more
9/5/2019
/ ABC Test ,
DoorDash ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lobbyists ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Professional Services Contract ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subcontractors ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Uber
On July 3, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 188, the Crown Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair).
The text of the law includes an explanation for its purpose. In pertinent...more
A recent California Court of Appeal ruling significantly expands the conditions under which the reporting time pay rule in California will apply. Skylar Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc. involved retail clothing store workers who were...more
Under current California law, organizations with 50 or more employees or independent contractors must provide two hours of interactive harassment and abusive conduct prevention training for their managers and supervisors...more
11/6/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
DFEH ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Management ,
State Labor Laws
Assembly Bill 2613 seeks to expand the persons potentially liable to any “person acting on behalf of an employer”. More specifically, liability would attach when an employee is not paid sums owed when due under Labor Code...more
Senate Bill 1300 (Jackson) seeks to expand liability in discrimination and harassment by lowering the legal standard for legal claims. Currently, only harassment that is “severe or pervasive” is actionable....more
Last week the California Supreme Court issued a decision that changes the way California employers do business. In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the Court held that a three factor test (called the “ABC...more
5/10/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Effective January 1, 2018, California Assembly Bill 168 (AB 168) prohibits asking job applicants about their salary history (including other forms of compensation and benefits), or otherwise seeking this information. Further,...more
Beginning January 1, 2018, Assembly Bill 1008 (AB 1008) will prohibit employers with five or more employees from inquiring about criminal history on an employment application or before making a conditional employment offer,...more