Employment law in the best of times presents an ever-changing landscape, but with the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout, it can be especially challenging for workers and employers. As a general, regularly-updated informational resource for California workers and employers, we recommend the website created by the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency on Coronavirus 2019 […]
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Category Archives: Labor and Employment
California Legislative Alert: California Enacts AB 2257 ToModify Parts of the AB 5 Independent Contractor Classification Law
Those who are or use independent contractors (“IC”) know that effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) codified the ABC Test for classifying ICs and expanded its application to all Labor Code claims, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the Wage Orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. See, e.g., Cal. Lab. Code § 2750.3 […]
Read More >Federal District Court Reverses DOL’s “Final Rule” on Vertical Joint Employment By Reverting to FLSA Economic-Realities Test
On September 8, 2020, in a case entitled State of New York et al. v. Scalia etal. (Case No. 1:20 cv-01689-GHW), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) “final rule” (the “Rule”) concerning vertical joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Here […]
Read More >COVID-19 and Paid Sick Leave
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought seismic changes to nearly every facet of our lives. The same has been true for federal and local employment laws. Although the law typically evolves and changes at a near glacial pace, the COVID-19 pandemic has produced new sick leave laws in a matter of weeks that would have before […]
Read More >Employment Law Updates: (1) Independent Contractor Classification (AB 5) and (2) Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training for Small California Employers
2019 has been a busy year in the employment law front. We update you on two substantial updates that impact employers and employees alike: (1) the legislative pronouncement of the reach of the ABC Test on independent contractor classification and (2) the brief extension for small employers to provide mandatory sexual harassment training. Independent Contractor […]
Read More >Post-Dynamex Independent Contractor Classification Developments
We have written previous articles over the past year discussing the groundbreaking April 30, 2018, California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v Superior Court of Los Angeles which, in practice, significantly increases the liability risk and damages exposure to individuals or businesses seeking to classify workers as independent contractors. The Dynamex decision […]
Read More >DC Circuit Court Upholds NLRB’s 2015 Browning-Ferris “Indirect” Control Joint Employer Test and Signals Intent to Limit NLRB’s Pending Joint Employer “Rulemaking” Process
On December 28, 2018, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the “DC Circuit”) issued its long-awaited opinion concerning the appeal of the National Labor Relation Board’s 2015 ruling on the “joint employer” test. (See, https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/A1D3A01EDFAB1B8A852583710055207A/$file/16-1028-1766137.pdf) “Joint employment” in essence occurs when two or more individuals or companies are involved […]
Read More >New California Laws Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment In the Wake of the #MeToo Movement
Two new California laws demonstrate the widespread impact of the #MeToo Movement and the focus on putting a stop to sexual harassment in the workplace. SB 820: Prohibiting “Hush Money” Settlements Many articles and investigative reports have been published about prominent public figures, politicians and other famous (or infamous) persons with an apparent history of […]
Read More >Impact of Dynamex California Supreme Court Decision on Use of Independent Contractors
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903, announced a sea change on who is an employee, rather than an independent contractor (“IC”), for claims under California’s Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders (“Wage Orders”), which regulate the wages, hours, and working conditions of workers […]
Read More >Instructive Administrative Exemption Ruling for Staffing Firms
This alert addresses a recent 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Perry v. Randstad Gen. Partner (US) LLC, 2017 WL 5560160 (6th Cir. Nov. 20, 2017) (See link to decision below), concerning classification of employees as exempt versus nonexempt. “Exemption” classification, much like independent contractor classification, is highly fact intensive, nuanced and specific. And, as […]
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