Labor & Employment Law Blog

With eight days remaining before major provisions of California’s sick leave law become effective, the California Legislature continues to tinker with clean up legislation.  On June 22, 2015 the California Assembly amended and passed Assembly Bill 304 (Gonzalez) (“AB-304”), by a vote of 69-0.  AB-304 now goes to the California Senate for consideration.

As discussed during our recent Breakfast Briefings on the sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, we have been tracking various bills at the California Legislature regarding sick leave.  Following is the latest on each of these bills:

The City of Emeryville, California has followed in the steps of San Francisco, San Diego, and Oakland by enacting a city ordinance that expands an employee’s entitlement to paid sick leave as provided under California’s Assembly Bill 1522, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2014.  Indeed, the stated purpose of Emeryville’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance is to “provide Paid Sick Leave beyond

In a 12 to one vote on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that will incrementally increase Los Angeles’ minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2020.  Los Angeles joins San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and San Jose as California cities which have recently enacted minimum wage hikes.  Los Angeles is now the largest city in the United States with a plan to increase its ...

The state and federal courts in California continue to closely scrutinize employment arbitration agreements even though they remain a favored means of resolving disputes.  This was evident in the recent case of Ashbey v. Archstone Property Management, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an employee effectively waived his right to a judicial forum for his Title VII claim and ...

In 2012, Legislature enacted Labor Code section 3701.9 providing that “(a) A certificate of consent to self-insure shall not be issued after January 1, 2013, to any of the following. (1) a professional employer organization (“PEO”).  (2) A leasing employer [“LE”] …. (3) A temporary services employer [“TSE”],” and providing that “A certificate of consent to self-insure that has been ...

On April 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that lower courts have authority to review whether the EEOC fulfilled its duty to attempt conciliation (typically through mediation with the parties) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In that review, courts should narrowly consider whether the EEOC gave the employer notice and an opportunity to achieve voluntary compliance with Title ...

The new National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) election rules change a process that has existed for years.  Unions are waiting for April 14 to file election petitions.  Employers should take steps to understand the new rules and to be prepared to respond.

The NLRB will require posting of a notice to employees within two days of an election petition.

Employers must provide a statement of position within ...

On February 23, 2015 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced it will revise regulations defining spouse under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to recognize same-sex marriages regardless of state of residence.  These changes will take effect on March 27, 2015.

The change comes in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor issued on June 26, 2013.  In a ...

On February 10, 2015, the California Court of Appeal held that Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order 5 conflicts with California Labor Code section 512(a), and that the IWC exceeded its authority by creating an additional exception for second meal period waivers for health care workers.  (Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, 2015 WL 535730 (2015)).