On Saturday, June 13, 2015, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed into law a measure that would gradually increase the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour. Under this new law, in July 2016 the minimum wage in Los Angeles will increase to $10.50. Each year thereafter, the minimum wage…
On June 1, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch that, for an employee to successfully prove a religious discrimination case, that employee need only prove that his/her need for an accommodation was a “motivating factor” in the employe’s adverse employment decision. There…
On May 4, 2015, the California Supreme Court ruled in Williams v. Chino Valley Independent Fire District that a successful defendant in a FEHA case can get awarded its attorneys’ fees and costs only when “the plaintiff brought or continued litigating the action without an objective basis for…
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a pregnant woman on her claim that her employer discriminated against her on account of her pregnancy. The case, entitled Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., involved a pregnant UPS worker whose doctor recommended that she not life heavy…
Wage Orders 4 and 5 have long permitted employees in the “healthcare industry” who work longer than 8 hours in a day to voluntarily waive one of their two meal periods. However, on February 10, 2015, California’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in Gerard v. Orange Coast…
On November 25, 2004, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a first-in-the-nation “Retail Workers Bill of Rights.” This new legislation requires “formula retail” employers (chain stores with at least 20 outlets worldwide) who have 20 or more employees in San Francisco to provide the following job protections:…
Beginning January 1, 2015, the new standard IRS mileage rates are: $0.575/mile for business miles driven; $0.23/mile for medical or moving purposes; and $0.14/mile for service to charitable organizations. Employers that use the standard IRS rates for employee reimbursement purposes should review and adjust their expense reimbursement policies…
With AB 1522 (California’s new Paid Sick Leave Law) set to become law on January 1, 2015, the Labor Commissioner has posted two new items that should be of interest to California employers. The first is an updated “Wage Theft Prevention Act” notice, which is required to be given…
The California statewide minimum wage is currently $9.00 per hour. It will increase to $10.00 per hour on January 1, 2016 as a result of the passage of AB 10, which I blogged about here. But local jurisdictions are always free to set higher minimum wages, and that…
Silicon Valley Bank, the Angel Resource Institute, and CB Insights just released their Q4 2014 Halo Report. The report shows that angel investment for the quarter has decreased, with the median round size ($600K) down 39% from Q1 2014 levels ($990K). Other notable findings include: — Internet, healthcare,…