Category Archives: Labor and Employment

In 2024, the California Legislature enacted significant amendments to California’s Private Attorneys General Act (or “PAGA”). PAGA has been in effect for decades, and many believe that, while well-intentioned, it has come to be a boon for a select group of savvy plaintiff-side attorneys while resulting in minimal financial benefits for employees. The 2024 amendments, […]

In our last issue of Perspectives, we summarized recent non-compete-related legislation in a California employer alert entitled “New Prohibitions and Penalties Concerning Noncompetition Clauses.” However, many employers continue to have questions about the practical takeaways regarding this legislation. So, here is a refresher summary focusing on the most impactful takeaways. Effective January 1, 2024, California […]

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released the details of a long-awaited “final rule” addressing when employers can classify workers as independent contractors under federal labor law. Our overall assessment of the FLSA “final rule” (effective March 11, 2024) (the “2024 Rule”) is that it will not materially impact independent contractor misclassification […]

Effective July 1, 2024, Senate Bill 553 (signed by Governor Newsom on September 30, 2023 and codified at California Labor Code Section 6401.9), California employers (with very few exceptions) must (1) establish, implement, and maintain an effective written workplace violence prevention policy / plan that includes specified information, training, and recordkeeping requirements and (2) provide […]

Effective January 1, 2024, California Business & Professions Code Section 16600.5 (via Senate Bill 699) was added to prohibit an employer from entering into or attempting to enforce a noncompete agreement regardless of whether the contract was signed outside of California.  Please note that nonsolicitation of clients and customers clauses have frequently been used by […]

On September 8, 2023, the California Court of Appeal, in a case entitled Doe v. Superior Court of San Francisco (No. A167105)  issued another decision constraining an employer’s ability to enforce binding arbitration agreements against employees. The decision compliments a July 2023 Court of Appeal opinion, Cvejic v. Skyview Capital, LLC (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 1073. […]

Both locally and nationally, a growing trend continues that disfavors confidentiality, nondisclosure, and nondisparagement provisions in settlement agreements and releases – even if such terms are part of a bargained-for-exchange between the parties.  On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in McLaren Macomb in which it found certain nondisparagement and […]

On September 27, 2022, Governor Newsom signed SB 1162. The new law, which became effective January 1, 2023, has broad new requirements for all California employers regarding the tracking and retention of employee pay information.  Additional, more onerous requirements are detailed for employers depending on their number of employees, as outlined below. Requirements for All […]

California has once again passed several new employment laws that became effective January 1, 2023.  In this survey article, we highlight (1) state minimum wage increases, (2) the new “designated person” addition under California paid sick leave and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), and (3) expanded bereavement leave.  California’s new pay transparency law, also […]

In 2004, California enacted the Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”), a law that allows private individuals to bring enforcement actions on behalf of California’s Labor Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”).  Since its enactment, the law has been used to curb violations of the California Labor Code while simultaneously serving as a boon to many plaintiff-side employment […]