The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, in Groff v. DeJoy, that employers have a heightened duty to accommodate their employees’ religious practices.
Posts Categorized In: Employment Law Advice & Counsel
California Announces New Guidance on Mandatory Payroll Data Reporting
California law requires employers with 100 or more U.S. employees to annually submit data on the pay, hours worked, and demographics of all employees who either work within California or who are assigned to a California establishment, even if they reside or telework from another state. This data must be submitted every year to the… Read More
Are Layoffs Really the Answer? Research Says No
As employers across the country consider and implement layoffs, Harvard Business School Professor Sandra Sucher writes that “[R]esearch shows that layoffs continue to have detrimental long-term effects on individuals and companies.” In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Professor Sucher and her colleague, Dr. Marilyn Morgan Westner, explain how the “short-term cost savings” from layoffs are outweighed… Read More
New Employment Laws Coming for California Employers
The following bills were recently signed into law by Governor Newsom. California employers will need to be in compliance with each of these new laws on January 1, 2023 unless otherwise stated in the summaries below. AB 257 – improve working conditions and wages for fast-food employees AB 257 authorizes the California Department of Industrial… Read More
Federal Court Rules that Gender Dysphoria is a Disability Protected the ADA
On August 16, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Williams v. Kincaid that transgender people who experience gender dysphoria are protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Gender dysphoria is a “discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and that person’s sex… Read More
New California Laws Require Training for Alcohol Servers
Two new California laws, AB 1221 and AB 82, require every server of alcohol and their managers to be trained in responsible alcohol service. The new laws took effect on July 1, 2022 and require all existing alcohol servers to complete their training by August 31, 2022. New hires must complete their training within 60… Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Delivers Bombshell PAGA Ruling in Favor of Employers
On June 15, 2022, in a blockbuster case known as Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the U.S. Supreme Court finally answered a burning employment law issue here in California – whether California’s rule prohibiting the use of arbitration agreements to force an employee to waive her right to bring a representative action under PAGA… Read More
CA Supreme Court: Meal/Rest Period “Premium Pay” Is Wages
On May 22, 2022, the California Supreme Court held in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. that premium payments owed by an employer to a non-exempt employee for missed meal/rest periods are “wages” and not penalties. Thus, when those premium payments are owed but not timely paid, the employer can be subject to additional penalties… Read More
Employee Gets COVID at Work + Employee’s Family Members Then Get COVID = Family Members Can Sue You
Just when California employers thought things could not get any worse… In See’s Candies, Inc. v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal addressed the question of whether a family member of an employee who contracted COVID while at work can sue their family member’s employer for damages. The Court’s answer? A resounding “Yes.” The… Read More
Cal/OSHA Announces New COVID Requirements for Employers
The first version of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (“Cal/OSHA’s”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) were adopted on November 30, 2020. The ETS sets forth requirements for employers and employees on a wide range of issues related to COVID-19, including masking requirements, when testing is required, and steps to take in the event… Read More
