Showing 12 posts from December 2020.

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 12: COVID-19 Notification Requirements

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this twelfth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: twelve drummers drumming and AB 685.

In a year marked by the pandemic, it seems rather appropriate that our 2020 series is bookended with COVID-19 laws. As the pandemic evolved, so did requirements for employers to comply with COVID-19 guidelines. Earlier this summer, Virginia became the first state to adopt emergency COVID-19 regulations. As was suspected, California followed suit and enacted its own legislation to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and also emphasize employee safety. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 11: Pay Data Reporting – Another Headache for Employers

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this ninth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: eleven pipers piping and SB 973.

The Equal Pay Act has been in play for decades and has expanded over the years. In 2015, Governor Brown signed the California Fair Pay Act, which became effective January 1, 2016. The California Fair Pay Act aimed to ensure equal pay for employees performing "substantially similar work" and also to make it more difficult for employers to justify pay disparities through the "bona fide factor other than sex" defense. Existing federal law requires certain companies to file an annual employer information report which includes data regarding demographics of the employer's workforce (EEO-1) with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). SB 973 is another attempt to minimize California's gender pay gap. A similar bill was vetoed in 2017 and then held in committee throughout 2018 and 2019. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 10: COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Expanded to All Employers

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this tenth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: ten lords a-leaping and AB 1867.

AB 1867 fills a void that was left by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) regarding paid sick leave. The FFCRA was enacted to provide federal paid sick leave and expanded family leave due to the pandemic, but it only applied to employers with less than 500 employees. In response, California enacted a supplemental COVID-19 paid sick leave law through AB 1867. Applicable to businesses with 500 or more employees nationally, AB 1867 in essence guarantees that any employee—regardless of the size of the employer—will receive paid sick leave if needed due to COVID-19. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 9: Additional Leave Law Updates

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this ninth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: nine ladies dancing and AB 2992 and AB 2399.

Both AB 2992 and AB 2399 include expansions for extended leave and are effective January 1, 2021. Given the particularly sensitive areas that AB 2992 addresses and the potentially broad implications of AB 2399, it is especially important for employers to know this legislation and be prepared. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 8: Additional Exemptions for Worker Classification

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this eighth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: eight maids a-milking and AB 2257.

Deemed an emergency statute, AB 2257 went into effect immediately upon the Governor's signature on September 4, 2020. Focusing on worker classification, the bill provides additional exemptions to AB 5, which concerned the classification of independent contractors. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 7: Rest Break Updates

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this seventh day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: seven swans a-swimming and AB 1512 and AB 2479.

Due to the multitude of wage and hour claims that are filed each year, meal and rest break updates are consistently part of annual employment law changes. Generally, an employer must provide and permit an uninterrupted rest break for all nonexempt employees who work at least 3.5 hours. Rest breaks must be offered at the rate of 10 minutes for every four hours worked. In Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., the California Supreme Court held that employers must relieve employees of all duties during the rest breaks and relinquish any control over how employees spend their rest break. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 6: The Expansion of the CFRA

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this sixth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: six geese a-laying and SB 1383.

Effective January 1, 2021, SB 1383 will dramatically expand California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave. The CFRA authorizes eligible employees to take up to a total of 12 weeks of paid or unpaid job-protected leave during a 12-month period. While on leave, employees keep the same employer-paid health benefits they had while working. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 5: New Successor Liability for Wage and Hour Judgements

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this fifth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: five golden rings and AB 3075.

Existing law requires a corporation and foreign corporation, limited liability company, or foreign limited liability company registered to transact intrastate business to file specified documents disclosing information regarding entity with the Secretary of State, including a statement of information. This contains information regarding the general type of business that constitutes the principal business activity of the corporation or limited liability company. There are currently nine specific items a business must provide. Under AB 3075, the statement of information must also indicate whether any officer or any director—or, in the case of a limited liability company, any member or any manager—has an outstanding final judgment issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) or a court of law for the violation of any wage order or provision of the Labor Code. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 4: No-Rehire Provision Now Includes One More Exception

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this fourth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: four calling birds and AB 2143.

No-rehire provisions were banned in employment settlement agreements as of January 1, 2020, per SB 749. There was one exception, though: if the employer made a good faith determination that the employee engaged in sexual harassment or sexual assault. If that was documented, a no-rehire provision was allowed. While this exception was helpful, SB 749 caused employer frustration throughout 2020 because it lacks other exceptions. For instance, an employer may settle employment claims, complaints or actions against them, but they are unable to include a no-rehire provision with the employee who initiated the claim. It also did not protect employers from a bad faith claim. Enter AB 2143. More ›

Hinshaw's 12 Days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 3: Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Forefront for California-Based Publicly Held Corporations

In the spirit of the season—and keeping some semblance of normal—we are using our annual "12 days of the holidays" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this third day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: three French hens and AB 979.

This bill is reminiscent of one we kicked off our annual series with back in 2018, which came in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The bill, SB 826, required any publicly held corporation with its principal office located in California, to include at least one woman director on the corporation's Board of Directors by the end of 2019. It further provided that, by the end of 2021, corporations with five or more directors must include at least two female board members, and corporations with six or more directors must include at least three female board members. While SB 826 addressed gender equality, AB 979 focuses on racial and ethnic diversity. More ›