In December 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana (Viking). The question presented in Viking is whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires enforcement of a bilateral arbitration agreement providing that an employee cannot raise representative claims, including representative claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
2022
Understanding Compliance with California’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirements
Employers should have a comprehensive plan regarding sexual harassment prevention in the workplace, which includes training for all employees. Under current California law, employers with five or more employees are required to provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors and managers and one hour of sexual harassment prevention training to non-supervisory employees. …
San Francisco Passes Amendments to Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance
San Francisco’s Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance was enacted in 2014 and provides employees with the right to request flexible or predictable work arrangements to assist with caregiving responsibilities. Initially, the ordinance applied to requests to care for a child or a parent over age 65.
The ordinance applies to employers with 20 or more employees,…
Pending Legislation Would Expand Reasonable Accommodations to Employees and Applicants for “Family Responsibilities”
Recently the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance regarding discrimination against employees with caregiving responsibilities for family members. California similarly has a pending bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 2182, which seeks to add “family responsibilities” as a protected class under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
If passed, the bill…
Proposed California Bill Would Give Minor League Baseball Players More Control Over Their Name, Image & Likeness
In the wake of a recent trial court decision finding that minor league baseball players are year-round employees, California State Senator Josh Becker has introduced legislation proposing that California enact the Minor League Baseball Players’ Bill of Rights.
Commenting on his proposed legislation Senator Becker stated, “I introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1248 to create the…
Challenges to California’s Board Diversity Statutes
Building on board gender diversity requirements, California passed Assembly Bill (AB) 979 in 2020. This statute requires publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities,” specifically those individuals who self-identify as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native,…
Cal/OSHA to Consider Revisions to First-Aid Kit Requirements
While the Cal/OSHA Standards Board (Board) has received much more attention in the last two years relating to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) the Board is turning to some more basic issues pertaining to workplace safety. At its upcoming April 21, 2022 meeting the Board will consider revisions to first aid kit requirements both…
New Bill May Reduce Delay in Background Checks
Last year, the California Court of Appeal ruled in All of Us or None of Us. v. Hamrick that an individual’s date of birth and driver’s license number could not be used as data identifying a criminal defendant in public records. Based on that decision, many courts around the state redacted birth dates and driver’s…
California Legislature Considers Employer Vaccine Mandate
As COVID-19 restrictions loosen around the state, California’s legislature continues its consideration of legislation pertaining to the pandemic.
Assembly Bill (AB) 1993 which was introduced in February proposes that employers require employees and independent contractors who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to show proof of vaccination. Current employees and independent contractors would need…
Getting Local: San Diego Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Leave
California employment laws are exhaustive and comprehensive compliance may serve to be challenging for employers, especially when taking into account the patchwork of local ordinances pertaining to minimum wage, paid sick leave, and more.
At the minimum, employers doing business in the City of San Diego (City) should be aware of and in compliance with…