California - General

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has approved new regulations to protect transgender individuals, effective July 1, 2017.

When it comes to legislation, for California employers it's the final countdown. June 2 was the last day for bills to pass out of their house of origin. September 15 is the deadline for these bills to pass both legislative houses, and the governor will have until October 15 to sign or veto bills. Ge

Ilyse Schuman, Co-Chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, talks with Sacramento Shareholder Bruce Sarchet about two new bills pending in the California legislature dealing with the concept of equal pay for equal work. One would prohibit employers from asking about salary history during the jo

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in NLRB v. Alternative Entertainment, Inc. holding that a mandatory employment arbitration agreement prohibiting class or collective claims violates the NLRA. With this holding, the Sixth Circuit is now aligned with the Ninth and Seve

Assembly Bill 1008 is making its way through the California legislature, after being passed in its amended form by the Committee on Appropriations on May 26, 2017. The Bill would repeal Labor Code section 432.9 and make it unlawful for an employer to include on an application for employment any ques

On February 23, 2017, Waymo (Google’s self-driving car subsidiary) sued Uber, under the DTSA in the Northern District of California, alleging that Waymo’s former star engineer, Anthony Levandowski, conspired with Uber to steal its trade secrets to allow Uber to make a technological leap forward on i

Among the many questions California employers face when navigating the ins and outs of various disability leave laws is under what circumstances an employee may choose or be required to utilize paid time off for an otherwise unpaid leave of absence. When dealing with these issues, it is important to

The Ninth Circuit recently issued is decision in Rizo v. Yovino, reversing a district court ruling holding that an employer violated the federal Equal Pay Act through its bright-line policy of paying new employees 5% more than their prior salary. According to the district court (and the stated posit

California employers can now schedule employees with more confidence when the press of business requires employees to work beyond their normal work schedule. The California Supreme Court has clarified California’s “day of rest” statute. The ruling affords employers flexibility in scheduling employee

Today, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, clarifying California's day of rest requirements. These requirements are set forth in Labor Code sections 551 and 552. Section 551 provides that “every person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) finalized new regulations limiting the ability of employers to consider criminal history when making employment decisions.

In what appears to be an issue previously undecided under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), the Second District Court of Appeals in California held that an employer’s refusal to allow an at-will employee to rescind her resignation is not a proper basis for a disability discrim

Executive Summary: California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently enacted regulations that impose additional burdens on employers’ use of criminal background checks in employment decisions. The new regulations are expected to go into effect on July 1, 2017. The new regulation

Effective July 1, 2017, new regulations will further limit employers’ ability to consider criminal history when making employment decisions.

As we recently reported regarding the City of Los Angeles, both the City of San Diego and the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) have updated their “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQs”) related to the respective local and state sick leave requirements. Below are some of th

It is no secret that California lawmakers and the Trump administration do not agree on immigration policy. With the Trump administration stepping up enforcement efforts against illegal immigration, California is trying to thwart those efforts, including through a new bill that seeks to throw Califor

In the past several days, there have been a few different employment-related developments in California. In this blog, we highlight the Criminal History Regulations, California Supreme Court's Arbitration Ruling and Safeway Prevailing in Proving Assistant Managers Are Exempt from Overtime.

Healthcare employers in California should prepare for a host of new workplace safety requirements, starting this weekend. California’s new healthcare workplace safety prevention law takes effect April 1, 2017.

On March 14, 2017, with little to no fanfare, the City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards (OWS) revised its rules implementing the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO), which includes mandatory paid sick leave requirements. OWS also revised its frequently asked questions (FAQs). The revised FAQs provid

The validity of mandatory arbitration agreements continues to be a major focus of litigation and legislation. As employers know, the U.S. Supreme Court currently is reviewing the issue of whether class action waivers violate the NLRA in the consolidated matters Morris v. Ernst & Young, Lewis v. Epic