Alert: San Francisco Employer Annual Reporting Requirements: Health Case Security Ordinance and Fair Chance Ordinance

All employers covered by San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance and/or the Fair Chance Ordinance are required to submit a 2022 Employer Annual Reporting Form by May 1, 2023.  The Health Care Security Ordinance (“HCSO”) applies to employers who have employees who work, either in person or remotely, within the geographic boundaries of San Francisco, and who have 20 or

Alert: What California Employers Need to Know About Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Following Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta

On February 15, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America et al. v. Bonta et al. (9th Cir. No. 20-15291), which invalidates California Assembly Bill (AB) 51. This case is the latest development in the long-running litigation over whether California may prevent employers from requiring arbitration agreements

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

COVID-19 UPDATE: CALIFORNIA AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT POLICY CHANGES

by Alexandra P. Saddik and Jonathan R. Babione As we head into the fall season, government policies regarding management of the pandemic have changed. Here are the updates that could impact businesses: FEDERAL Payroll Tax Holiday: On August 8, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order allowing businesses to defer payment of payroll tax obligations from September 1, 2020 through

CALIFORNIA TRUCKING ASSOCIATION WINS PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN AB-5 LAWSUIT

by Alexandra P. Saddik and Jonathan R. Babione On January 16, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted the California Trucking Association (CTA) a preliminary injunction enjoining the state from enforcing AB-5 to motor carriers operating in California. AB-5 codifies the ABC test in the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision. Under this law, with