Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1561 to extend the sunset dates on the exemptions granted to licensed manicurists and construction trucking subcontractors from the provisions of AB 5. AB 5 sets forth the test for whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. The exemptions will now sunset on Jan. 1, 2025, providing each industry three additional years...

On September 22, 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 701 into law aimed at “warehouse distribution centers” and the use of quotas.  While the law was drafted to curtail alleged practices of Amazon, it will impact many warehouses across California.  Here are five key questions California employers need to understand about the new law: 1. Which employers must comply with AB 701? The...

In the construction industry, where multiple companies working closely together abound and where it is more difficult to monitor employee behavior because many employees are in the field, more incidents of inappropriate behavior occur. Texas and California, two states opposite politically and in lawmaking, have instituted legislation expanding sex harassment protections for employees in the workplace that go even further...

California lawmakers have passed a first-of-its-kind legislation that would give Amazon and other warehouse workers new power to fight speed quotas, which critics say have forced workers to skip bathroom breaks and skirt safety measures. The bill, if signed by the governor, could also make public more comprehensive details about the demands Amazon makes of its warehouse staff, specifically about...

California takes the lead once again by enacting stricter privacy laws designed to protect consumers’ rights over their personal data. In November 2020, the California Legislature passed the Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA or the Act), which goes into effect on January 1, 2023. The CPRA amends and expands the existing California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Failure to comply with...

The California Court of Appeal has ruled that date of birth and/or a driver’s license number cannot be used to identify individuals in an electronic search of the criminal index of court records. All of Us or None v. Hamrick. This ruling complicates and further restricts how and even whether (from a practical standpoint) employers can conduct lawful background checks...

Updated July 19 to reflect the new California Supreme Court ruling that requires rest and meal period premiums to include bonuses and other incentive payments in addition to the employee’s base hourly rate. The California Supreme Court on July 15 issued a new ruling that requires rest and meal period premiums to include nondiscretionary payments, such as bonuses and other...

On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, in which it held that meal and rest break premiums required under California Labor Code section 226.7 (“Section 226.7”) must be paid at non-exempt employees’ regular rate of pay—not merely their base hourly rate. The decision, which applies retroactively, requires that employers...

A case against a California nursing home over a resident’s alleged coronavirus death can proceed in state court despite the facility’s bid to move it to federal court, a U.S. district judge ruled. The decision highlights the extent to which a federal public readiness law prevents state-law, pandemic-related negligence claims. At least a half dozen federal circuits are hearing similar...