Seyfarth Synopsis: Not long after a similar Congressional appeal, Senators sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions urging action to stem the tide of website accessibility lawsuits plaguing businesses....more
9/17/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: August 31 was the California Legislature’s last day to send bills to Governor Brown for his approval or veto by his September 30 deadline. Chief among them are bills addressing sexual harassment....more
9/5/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Record Retention ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Waiver of Rights
Seyfarth Synopsis: If ADA Title III federal lawsuit numbers continue to be filed at the current pace, 2018’s total will exceed 2017 by 30%, fueled largely by website accessibility lawsuit continued growth....more
Several bills of concern to California employers failed to receive the house of origin blessing and passage by the June 1 deadline, including this year’s attempts at PAGA reform, criminal history inquiries, and medical...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The World Wide Web Consortium just published an expanded version of the WCAG to add 17 more requirements to address new technologies and other digital barriers for individuals with disabilities....more
On May 21, a California state court in Los Angeles held on summary judgment that the Whisper Lounge restaurant violated California’s Unruh Act by having a website that could not be used by a blind person with a screen reader,...more
6/4/2018
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Technology ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs who pursued numerous web accessibility actions under Title III of the ADA are now using website accessibility to test the limits of a different area of law – employment law – California’s Fair...more
4/13/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Popular ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: After initially dismissing a sweeping class action complaint alleging systemic pay discrimination on behalf of “all women employed by Google in California,” the Court has now decided to allow an amended –...more
4/3/2018
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Google ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Technology Sector ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Dominating this spring’s planting of proposed employment-related legislation are bills aimed at ending sexual harassment and promoting gender equity. Among the secondary crops are bills regarding...more
3/23/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Breastfeeding ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of federal ADA Title III lawsuits continue to surge in 2017, fueled largely by website accessibility claims; while legislative reform efforts continue to mitigate the physical accessibility...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective on January 1, 2018, California’s new salary history ban law will prohibit inquiries about an applicant’s salary history and will create an affirmative obligation to disclose a “pay scale” upon an...more
1/2/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: California will soon have a new law requiring WCAG 2.0 AA compliance for state agencies’ websites by 2019.
On October 14, 2017 California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 434, which will create a...more
12/4/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Posting Requirements ,
Public Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: New statutory obligations for California employers in 2018 will include prohibitions on inquiries into applicants’ salary and conviction histories, expanding CFRA to employees of smaller employers,...more
10/17/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
DFEH ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
New Legislation ,
Parental Leave ,
Raids ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Jerry Brown has till October 15 to approve bills the Legislature sent to his desk by its Friday, September 15, deadline, including bills that would require employers to ”show us the money” for...more
9/20/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 11, AB 1209, the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act, which would require larger employers in California to publish differences in pay between male and female employees and Board members, left the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of federal lawsuits alleging inaccessible websites continues to increase, along with the number of law firms filing them. Businesses remain well-advised to seek advice from counsel experienced...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two New York federal judges recently said that the ADA covers websites (even those not connected to a physical place) and one held that working on improving the accessibility of one’s website does not make...more
8/8/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Public Accommodation ,
Rewards Programs ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
Seyfarth Synopsis: In amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department agreed with the Fifth Circuit and defendant Coca-Cola that a vending machine is not a place of public accommodation and that public...more
7/27/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coca Cola ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Public Use ,
Title III ,
Vending Machines
Seyfarth Synopsis: Pay equity and Ban The Box bills lead the list of bills approved to continue their quest (moving to the other house of the California Legislature) to become California law....more
6/8/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Holiday Pay ,
Immigrants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retail Workers ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Tips ,
Union Dues ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour
The increase of ADA Title III lawsuits in federal court shows no signs of stopping. From January 1 through April 30, 2017, 2629 lawsuits were filed — 412 more than during the same period in 2016....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment yesterday heard and approved AB 5, The Opportunity to Work Act, as it continues to move through the legislative process....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Back from Spring Break, and Back to Work: Our List of L&E Bills to Watch in the remainder of the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session. ...more
4/19/2017
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
FEHA ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Holiday Pay ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Internships ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Tips ,
Union Dues ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Retailer and Texas bankers go on the offense in response to ADA Title III lawsuits and demand letters.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of banks, retailers, and other businesses have received demand...more
3/2/2017
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Banks ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Demand Letter ,
Mootness ,
Retailers ,
Settlement ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Seyfarth Synopsis: With the recent proliferation of web accessibility demand letters and lawsuits, businesses often ask whether settling a claim with one plaintiff will bar future lawsuits brought by different plaintiffs. One...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New website and mobile app accessibility settlement agreement requires WCAG 2.0 AA conformance, training, and feedback mechanism.
Being named one of the most innovative companies of 2016 doesn’t make...more