For California employers, receiving a demand letter from a current or former employee is cause for concern. While the letter does not necessarily mean a lawsuit will follow, it should never be ignored or handled informally. How you respond in the early stages after receiving the letter can…
On August 7, 2026, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a new law cutting the amount of time a covered employee has to work for a covered employer before being eligible for paid parental leave under the City’s Paid Parental Leve Ordinance (“PPLO”). Previously, a covered employee in…
Here in the Bay Area, with Big Tech aggressively competing for the world’s best and brightest, employees have for years enjoyed extraordinary benefits – free chef-made meals in the company cafeteria, on-tap beer and prosecco, commuter buses, pet insurance, surrogacy benefits, ping pong tables, gym memberships, laundry services,…
Effective February 1, 2026, all California employers are required to provide employees and new hires with a “stand-alone written notice” of key workplace rights. This new requirement is the result of SB 294, also known as the “Workplace Know Your Rights Act,” which we previously blogged about here. This…
As the holidays approach, California employers should start preparing for a slew of new employment laws that become effective on January 1, 2026 or shortly thereafter. These include: AB 692 – Most Stay-or-Pay Agreements Are Now Illegal As we blogged about here, after January 1, 2026, most stay-or-pay agreements signed…
California’s hostility to non-compete agreements is well known among employers and employees. But now, with Governor Newsom signing AB 692, California has gone even further – now banning most “stay-or-pay” agreements that are signed on or after January 1, 2026. A “stay-or-pay” agreement requires an employee to pay the…
When an employer fails to pay an employee at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, current California law allows the employee to sue the employer and collect the minimum wages owed plus an additional amount known as “liquidated damages” equal to the amount of minimum wages…
A new decision from the California Court of Appeals in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. confirms that an employee can prospectively waive a future meal period for a shift that does not exceed 6 hours so long as the prospective waiver is in writing, uncoerced, and revocable. Under…
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services that white, heterosexual, and other “majority group” employees are not required to meet a heightened standard in order to prove illegal employment discrimination. This decision puts majority group plaintiffs on the same legal…
Yes, it’s that time of year again! Private employers in California with 100 or more employees, or 100 or more workers hired through staffing agencies, must file their annual pay data report to the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”) no later than May 14, 2025. This annual report…