Employment Law Information Network
All Things Labor and Employment Law
By: USCIS to Accept Electronic I-765 OPT EAD Applications
The USCIS is modernizing its processes and moving towards electronic filing for student work documents. On April 12, 2021, USCIS announced that it will begin accepting Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (“EAD”) from F-1 students transitioning to Optional Practical Training (“OPT”)
Mark Spring of CDF Labor Law LLP interviewed on vaccine requirements regarding return to work.
Todd Wulffson, CDF OC Office Managing Partner, discusses employers requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, potential employer liability of employees working from home, and more, on the podcast “Zoom meetings, hybrid work models: What to expect when returning to the office” hosted by Steve Chiotakis of KCRW – Southern California’s flagship NPR affiliate. Other podcast guests include Regina Phelps, a Pandemic planner, founder and CEO, Emergency Management & Safety Solutions Inc, and Tsedal Neeley, an Author and Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
This past month’s Amazon union election in Alabama received more national attention than any other union election since the Boeing election in South Carolina in February 2017. The press covered it very closely. Politicians offered their views on it. Even President Biden commented on it.
Notwithstanding the publicity, the efforts of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) failed miserably. Despite a massive campaign by the RWDSU, only 12.5% of the eligible workers actually voted to unionize. Slightly more than half of the 5,800 employees in the proposed bargaining unit cast their ballots. 1,798 rejected unionization and only 738 employees voted in favor of RWDSU representation.
By: New DOL Guidance for COBRA Premium Assistance Under ARPA
By: New DOL Guidance for COBRA Premium Assistance Under ARPA
On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) created a new webpage to provide guidance related to an employer’s obligations to comply with the mandated COBRA premium assistance under The American
As the pandemic crisis and the social landscape continues to evolve, so too must the techniques that employers use to investigate workplace concerns. Employer missteps when conducting internal investigations can create significant legal and financial risks for employers and negatively impact a company’s reputation. This is particularly true in California. During this complimentary webinar, CDF attorneys will identify and discuss strategies for handling the most pressing investigation challenges and steps employers can take to mitigate risks.
This webinar will cover how to:
* Safely and effectively conduct investigations as the pandemic continues to present health and logistical complications
* Investigate race discrimination and harassment claims in the rising tide of bias against Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
* Deal with the fallout from #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, and #CancelCulture when conducting workplace investigations
Please join the Chair of CDF’s Internal Investigations Practice Group, Daphne Bishop, and CDF attorney Ashley Lopeztello on April 27, 2021 to learn practical insights for conducting internal investigations in today’s legal, virtual and social landscapes.
On April 6, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his goal to have California fully reopen for business as of June 15, 2021. In order to meet this goal, the state must meet the following criteria: (1) the state must have sufficient vaccine supply to vaccinate all Californians who are 16 or older, and (2) hospitalization rates in the state must remain low and stable.
LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 22, 2021 – Award-winning California labor and employment defense law firm CDF Labor Law LLP (CDF) proudly congratulates its Los Angeles Office Partner John Giovannone for being named to the “Pasadena Top Attorneys 2021” list by Pasadena Magazine. In addition, he was also selected to the 2021 Southern California Super Lawyers® list. These peer and client recognitions are awarded to only a select number of accomplished attorneys.
On March 29, 2021, California’s newest COVID-19-related legislation requires all employers with 25 or more employees to provide California employees up to 80 hours of COVID-19 paid sick leave. This new law requires paid sick leave in addition to other mandated paid sick leave, to certain COVID-19 impacted employees who are not able to work or telework.
By: New CCPA Regulations Issued by California Attorney General
On March 15, 2021, new regulations published under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) further define how businesses may communicate privacy options on the internet.
The new regulations ban “dark patterns” that delay the process for opting out of the sale of personal information
In a rare victory for employers, a California Court of Appeal in Wilson v. The La Jolla Group, 2021 WL 940283 (3/12/2021) affirmed the trial court’s denial of class certification of independent contractors’ wage and hour claims who alleged they were misclassified. The Court of Appeal, however, reversed the trial court’s denial of class certification as to whether a class could be certified to determine whether the business misclassified the Plaintiffs and violated California’s wage statement requirements, and directed the trial court to review the evidence further. The Wilson Court affirmed long-standing class action principles that certification requires a predominance of common questions of law and fact where liability must be demonstrated by an employer’s uniform policy or consistent practice that violates wage and hour laws. The Court held that Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate predominance due to a wide variety of factual differences among the contractors.
By: Increasingly Complex Local Employment Regulations in California Require Ongoing Monitoring
In addition to California’s expansive statewide employment laws, employers must also stay up-to-date on a quickly growing body of local employment regulations. We’ve covered specific local regulations on this blog in the past, but the following are the top local
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, contains a number of benefits for American workers that their employers will need to understand. Among these is the inclusion of subsidized COBRA coverage for employees (and their family members) who experience a loss of group health coverage due to reduced hours of employment or involuntary termination of employment. Importantly, COBRA premiums are to be paid by employers who will be reimbursed via a tax credit on their quarterly payroll taxes. As discussed in this HRW Client Alert, this ARPA provision introduces considerable administrative challenges for employers, although additional regulatory guidance is likely to be offered in the coming weeks.
By: FFCRA Extended Through September 30, 2021 With Some Key Amendments
Late last week, President Biden signed the American Rescue Act Plan of 2021. Most of the news reports have focused on the $1,400 stimulus checks that many Americans will receive. On the employment side, the focus has been on the
By: DFEH Gives Greenlight To Mandatory Vaccinations In The Workplace
A few weeks ago, we blogged that California employers have a strong argument for requiring that employees obtain a COVID-19 vaccination, especially when in-person attendance is necessary for the job. See our previous blog. Last week, California’s Department of Fair Employment
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