Articles Discussing General Workplace Issues in California.

California is at it again – adopting a host of new labor and employment laws that will further regulate and complicate business operations in the Golden State.  Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these bills as they worked their way through the legislature and been signed into law

Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 237 (AB 237), which prohibits California public employers from discontinuing employer contributions for health care or other medical coverage for employees who, during the duration of an authorized strike, fall below the minimum hours worked to qualify for employee health care coverage.

The bill expressly

Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 331 (SB 331), which further limits the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and settlement agreement terms when settling employment legal claims involving harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.

Before the passage of SB 331, California’s restriction was limited to sex-related claims.  Specifically, since 2019 when SB 820

With health-related data and how to protect it at the forefront of discussion since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this week California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills related to genetic data.  First, AB 825, will expand the definition of personal information to include genetic data, for

In early August, California’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a mandate for health care workers to be vaccinated by September 30, 2021. Local government agencies within California, like the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, passed similar orders that expanded the CDPH mandate to, for example, non-medical

On October 5, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 654 (AB 654), which expands the types of employers who are exempt from COVID-19 outbreak reporting requirements. Specifically, under AB 654, employers such as community clinics, adult day health centers, community care facilities, and child daycare facilities are exempt from COVID-19

California’s Governor passed Assembly Bill 286 (AB 286) which amends the Fair Food Delivery Act of 2020. AB 286 makes it unlawful for a food delivery platform to charge a customer any purchase price for food or beverage that exceeds the price posted by the food facility on the food

Sean Paisan discusses a new law from the California Divison of Occupational Safety and Health imposing fines on employers for “egregious” violations of COVID-19 standards, including instances where three or more employees are hospitalized for illness, in “Workplace safety law expands Cal/OSHA reach,” published by Business Insurance.

Without any fanfare, Cal/OSHA updated its FAQs for the emergency temporary standards (ETS) on September 21, 2021, to incorporate new guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Importantly, the CDPH has relaxed its quarantine recommendations for unvaccinated, asymptomatic workers.  The ETS, which governs most workplaces in California, requires

To address the prevalent and ongoing practice of permitting employees to work from home, a new California law authorizes employers to provide required workplace notifications to their employees as attachments to emails. Senate Bill (SB) No. 657 was signed into law on July 16, 2021. While the new law maintains

On September 10, 2021, the California Court of Appeal broadened the test for joint employment in California, lowering the bar for what constitutes sufficient control by business over its vendor’s employees’ wages and working conditions and opening these businesses up to potential liability.

Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1561 (AB 1561) to extend the sunset dates on the exemptions granted to licensed manicurists and construction trucking subcontractors from the provisions of Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5). AB 5 sets forth the test for whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee.

A federation of hotel and motel owners and operators challenged a San Diego ordinance that requires certain building service and hospitality employers to recall workers laid off due to the pandemic before hiring new employees.

Read more about the new laws affecting employers in California.

New Legislation Signed Regarding Wage Theft Expansion for CFRA Leave to Include Parents-in-Law and Modifications to DFEH Mediation Program Changes to Wage Law for the Garment Manufacturing Industry California Expands Cal/OSHA’s Citation Authority California Expands PPE Stockpile and Employee Training

The Governor has signed Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506) which extends the existing exemption for three more years for newspaper distributors and carriers from the “ABC Test” under Dynamex and Assembly Bill 5. The bill takes into account the reality that newspaper carriers often work for more than one newspaper,