PAGA Manageability Requirement: A Split of Authority in California
4/15/22
By: Adam G. Khan On March 23, 2022, the California Court of Appeal based in Orange County held in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 237 a trial court “cannot dismiss a PAGA claim based on manageability.” The decision dealt California employers another blow in responding to Private Attorneys General Act…
California court holds that board diversity law violates equal protection
4/13/22
By: John Rubiner On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill (SB 979) that required publicly held companies headquartered in California to include board members from underrepresented communities. The law further required that, by the end of 2021, California-headquartered public companies have at least one director on their boards…
Updating Your California Employee Handbooks in 2022
4/4/22
By: Eileen P. Darroll Employee Handbooks protect employers from potential litigation. California has notoriously strict laws protecting employees; all businesses should regularly review handbooks for updates. If your business is based outside California, you should consider creating an addendum for California employees to mitigate the risk of litigation. In California, employers with at least five…
Another Step Toward Limiting Forced Arbitration: House Passes the FAIR Act
3/22/22
By: Margot Parker Following President Biden’s recent signing of a bill ending mandatory arbitration of sexual assault and harassment claims accruing on or after March 2, 2022, the U.S. House approved the FAIR Act (Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal) on March 17, 2022 – a bill seeking to broadly prohibit companies from enforcing arbitration agreements with…
2/4/22
By: Jaemie Paraon On January 27, 2022, the California Supreme Court clarified that whistleblower retaliation claims brought under Labor Code section 1102.5 must be evaluated under the framework prescribed in section 1102.6. Under section 1102.6, the plaintiff employee must first establish that it is more likely than not that retaliation for an employee’s protected activities was…
California employees are “silenced no more” in employment, settlement, and separation agreements
1/7/22
By: Michelle T. Harrington California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that expands existing law prohibiting confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements and expands restrictions on the use of non-disparagement clauses in employment agreements. The new law – known as the “Silenced No More Act” (SB 331 or the “Act”) – also imposes new time and notice…
California passes another bill addressing COVID-19 reporting
11/29/21
By: Gaia T. Linehan In September, 2020, California passed AB 685, which laid out new notification and reporting requirements for California employers dealing with Covid-19 exposure. Employers may recall that AB 685 authorized Cal/OSHA (California’s state OSHA agency) to issue “stop work orders” for workplaces that the agency concluded posed a risk of imminent hazard…
6/22/21
By: Mandy Hexom On April 16, 2021, Governor Newson signed into law a right to notice and recall of certain employees in the hospitality, event center, airport, private club, and commercial property service industries who were laid off due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This new law is set forth in California Labor…
New COVID-19 Notice Requirements for California Employers
1/12/21
By: Chelsea Whelan The new year ushers in new rules for California employers receiving notice of potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace. California Labor Code section 6409.6 became effective January 1 this year following the passage of Assembly Bill 685 and will sunset on January 1, 2023. Section 6409.6 requires employers provide written notice within one business…
Uber and Lyft Drive Prop 22 Home in California
11/17/20
By: Adam Khan On November 3, 2020, California voters resoundingly passed Proposition 22, delivering Uber and Lyft a big victory, and labor unions a setback. Prior to Prop 22, AB5 expanded the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. Specifically, AB5 applied Dynamex’s “ABC test” to both California Wage Orders and…
Californians Will Soon Receive Their Supplemental $300 A Week Unemployment Benefits
9/8/20
By: Michelle Harrington California has secured $4.5 billion from the Lost Wages Assistance Program (LWAP) that will result in a $300 per week boost in unemployment benefits to millions of unemployed people in California impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. The funding was made possible through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump approximately a week…
9th Circuit Holds Amazon’s Last-Mile Delivery Drivers are Exempt from Arbitration
8/21/20
By: Josue Aparicio[1] On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Amazon’s delivery drivers are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) because they are transportation workers “engaged in interstate commerce.” The decision is a huge loss for e-commerce giant, Amazon.com, who is facing several class action lawsuits arising from its “Amazon Flex”…