California - General

“Tourist hotels” in San Francisco must soon comply with Ordinance No. 208-20 enacted on October 9, 2020, which establishes cleaning and disease prevention standards and practices to help contain COVID-19. The ordinance also requires employers to provide training related to these standards for employ

California voters will decide on several important propositions in the upcoming November election, including three employment law issues that could have far-ranging implications for California employers and businesses.

On September 30, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1512, which amends California Labor Code Section 226.7 by authorizing employers to require certain unionized private security officers “to remain on the premises during rest periods and to remain on call, and carry and monitor a

On September 30, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 979, a measure that will require publicly held corporations in California to achieve diversity on their boards of directors by January 2023.

California’s statute governing the classification of independent contractors, enacted under Assembly Bill (AB) 5, underwent a significant renovation on September 4, 2020, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2257. The emergency measure, which takes effect immediately, contains several new exemptions

Assembly Bill 2855, recently signed into law by Governor Newsom, will require that acute care hospitals in California reimburse employees and job applicants for certain training costs.

On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 2231, which limits the “de minimis” exception to California prevailing wage laws to all but the smallest projects. Specifically, the new law limits the de minimis contribution of a public entity to an amount less than $600,000 and less

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), as amended in 2018, restricts a covered employer’s ability to make hiring decisions based on an individual’s criminal history, including but not limited to court records disclosed in a criminal background check. Employers with workers in Califor

On September 1, 2020, Sacramento County, California, enacted the Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act of 2020 , which obligates employers to provide supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) and to implement certain safety practices and protocols, and grants employees the right to refuse work under c

Despite a global pandemic and two COVID-19-related legislative shutdowns over the last seven months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California legislature have concluded the 2020 Legislative session on September 30, 2020, with an outbreak of new employment-related laws for employers to grapple

California has closed a busy legislative session with more than 30 laws relevant to employers being signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The 2020 session was influenced by the difficult events of 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to racial injustice.

The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Law, adopted in 1980, requires that certain “mandated reporters” make formal reports of suspected child abuse to law enforcement authorities. As defined in the law, child abuse includes acts and omissions constituting physical abuse, sexual abuse (inc

In an effort to address race and gender-based pay gaps, on September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 973 (SB 973) into law. Here is what employers need to know:

By: Final Results of CA Legislative Session: Employment Bills Signed Into Law by Newsom Yesterday was the last day for Governor Newsom to sign or veto bills that were passed by the Legislature this session. Newsom signed several bills into law that will affect California employers in the coming year

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of the California Legislature for long stretches of time this year. The work of the body continued on, however, and at the end of the session it passed the usual flurry of labor and employment bills and sent them to Governor Newsom.

On September 1, 2020, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed the Sacramento County Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act of 2020. The county appears to have modeled its new law on the City of Sacramento’s own recent Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act (WPHSA), which the city ena

In the midst of national conversations surrounding racial equity and social justice, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 979 into law on September 30, 2020.

On September 29, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2537 (AB 2537), the latest in a series of legislative enactments designed to protect employees from COVID-19 exposures in the workplace. Beginning April 1, 2021, employers in hospital settings will be required to m

As business owners and members of the labor and employment law community know all too well, California’s AB 5 went into effect on January 1 of this year. The law imposed the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor.

Signed into law on September 28, 2020, AB 1731 moves California’s work sharing program into the 21st century by mandating an online application process and specific deadlines for delivering claim forms. Work sharing is an unemployment insurance (UI) benefit program that gives employers the option of