On July 11, 2023, the California Court of Appeal in Thai v. IBM held that whether an employer is obligated to reimburse expenses incurred by an employee working from home turns on whether the expenses were a direct...more
7/18/2023
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Job Duties ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reimbursements ,
Remote Working ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
The California Court of Appeal in Meda v. AutoZone, Inc. recently reversed a trial court’s finding that an employer demonstrated it “provided” seats to its employees as a matter of law under California’s suitable seating...more
On April 21, 2022, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board adopted the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). Sheppard Mullin previously wrote...more
At its upcoming April 21, 2022 meeting, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board will decide whether to readopt the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards...more
4/11/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On January 25, 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced its withdrawal of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring vaccination or weekly testing. This action came...more
1/31/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued a decision in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC which was long-awaited but was ultimately highly disappointing to employers.
In sum, the Court held that when...more
Effective immediately, Senate Bill (SB) 1159 is a new California law that establishes presumptions about workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19. This article explains in a series of questions and...more
9/24/2020
/ Compensation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Workers ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Labor Code ,
Sick Employees ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Outbreaks
On May 6, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-62-20 (the “Order”), which states employees that test positive for COVID-19 are presumed to have contracted the virus in the course of employment for...more
While essential workers continue to make their way into the office amid the pandemic, many other Californians have been ordered to shelter in place. At first blush, non-essential businesses may view this as leading to a...more