ALERT: The Critical Importance Of Timely Paying Your Arbitration Fees Under The California Arbitration Act

By Connor M. Day Employers frequently require employees to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment. In 1961, the California Legislature enacted the California Arbitration Act (“CAA”), codified in Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1280 – 1294.4, as a way to protect the rights of private parties to resolve their disputes through the “efficient, streamlined procedures” of arbitration.

Alert: An Employer’s Guide to Suitable Seating Compliance

By Julie Ann Giammona Most of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage orders require that employees “shall be provided with suitable seats when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats.” In 2016, for the first time, the California Supreme Court interpreted the IWC requirements to mean that employers must provide seats if any tasks at a

ALERT: SENATE BILL 331: SILENCED NO MORE

By Julie Ann Giammona Commencing January 1, 2019, California  employers were prevented from including provisions in severance agreements that prohibited an employee from disclosing facts about workplace harassment and discrimination based on gender.  Effective January 1, 2022, Senate Bill 331(SB 331), expands such prohibition to include the disclosure of facts related to claims of harassment or discrimination on the basis

ALERT: Wage Theft Equals Grand Theft

On September 27, 2021, Assembly Bill No. 1003 (“AB 1003”) was signed into law. AB 1003 makes the intentional “theft of wages” from an employee a form of “grand theft”, punishable by Penal Code Section 487m. Importantly, AB 1003 defines employee to include independent contractors, and employer to include the hiring entity of the independent contractor, expanding the scope of

Updates on AB 51 and Its Effect on Arbitration Agreements in Employment Contracts

By Adam Nathaniel Arce Background: AB 51 In 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law California Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”). AB 51 has the following effects: Prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment, requiring instead that the arbitration agreement be entered into consensually by the parties. Prohibits retaliation or discrimination against an employee