California - General

On October 12, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the New Parent Leave Act (SB 63) ("the Act") into law, requiring employers with at least 20 employees to provide employees with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected parental bonding leave.

On October 5, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed 11 bills essentially making California a sanctuary state. The California Values Act (SB 54) aims to protect undocumented immigrants living in California. Brown stated that “this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety while br

We recently reported on several employment bills that were passed by the California Legislature and sent to the Governor for approval. Most of those bills are still pending the Governor’s review, but he has already signed two bills into law. Those two bills, which relate to the subjects of immigrati

Predictive or fair scheduling laws have taken hold on the West Coast in the cities of Emeryville, California; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Seattle, Washington; and the entire state of Oregon. On the opposite side of the country, New York City has also adopted fair scheduling requ

In February 2017, five California assembly members introduced Assembly Bill 1008, which proposes to add a section to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) containing new state-wide restrictions on an employer’s ability to make pre-hire and personnel decisions based on an individual’s

The California Legislature recently passed AB 1461 which, if signed into law, would require all food-handling employees of food facilities that provide meal subscription plans to obtain food handler cards in accordance with existing requirements. All for-profit food facilities that offer meal subscr

With the flurry of action by California lawmakers in the final weeks of the legislative session, there are approximately 640 bills waiting for action by California Governor, Jerry Brown. Here is a list of legislation which California employers should be watching.

September 15 was the last day in 2017 for bills to pass both houses of the California Legislature and be forwarded to the governor. Governor Jerry Brown (D) has until October 15, 2017 to sign, veto, or otherwise not act upon these bills. Those bills that become law will take effect on January 1, 201

September 15, 2017 was the last day for the California Legislature to pass bills and send them to the Governor for approval. This post contains the list of key labor and employment bills that passed and will either be vetoed or signed into law by the Governor.

Last week, a California Court of Appeal held that a unionized employee’s statutory wage and hour claims (meal and rest breaks, overtime) had to be arbitrated pursuant to the grievance-arbitration provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The employee had filed claims in cou

This week, a California Court of Appeal confirmed that employment arbitration agreements require arbitration not only of employment claims filed in court but also of administrative wage claims filed before the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”). Employers may recall that in 2013, the

There has been a lot of media attention recently over companies firing employees based on their political views and activities, or otherwise making known to employees that company leadership is of a particular political mindset and that contrary beliefs are not welcome. Based on these publicized sto

Over the last several years, San Francisco has enacted a number of local ordinances imposing new mandates on employers who have employees working in the City. City lawmakers are at it again, this time concerning the issue of lactation accommodation in the workplace. Even though there are already sta

A little over two years after Emeryville, California’s Minimum Wage, Paid Sick Leave, and Other Employment Standards Ordinance took effect on July 2, 2015, the City Manager adopted implementing regulations. In many respects, the regulations codify positions the City historically took in its frequent

California has a unique law regarding vacation benefits. Unlike the laws of many other states, California law requires an employee to be paid for all earned but unused vacation benefits at the time of termination of employment. California law thus prohibits “use it or lose it” policies and policies

Emphasizing the broad right of discovery and the remedial nature of the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, the California Supreme Court has ruled that, in pretrial discovery, plaintiffs under PAGA has a right to employer records containing other employees’ names and contact informatio

As Littler has reported, the number of class action lawsuits against employers alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has continued to spike. Most lawsuits proceed in federal court, but the FCRA allows plaintiffs to file in either federal or state court. On July 13, 2017, a clas

Beyond the labor and employment developments taking place at the state level in California, employers must keep an eye on breaking news at the local level as well.1 In recent years, municipalities up and down the coast have passed ordinances affecting employers, such as wage increases and scheduling

As workplace regulations spread among California cities, employers confront a tangled web of local rules – particularly those companies with operations in multiple locations. Addressing this compliance challenge with practical suggestions, Corinn Jackson with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WP

Both California and the City of Los Angeles have enacted regulations effective July 1, 2017 governing employer use of applicant and employee criminal history in making employment decisions. Below we summarize these upcoming changes as well as the City of San Francisco’s ordinance already in effect.