The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) recently began recommending the use of non-medical masks or “cloth face coverings” to help stem the spread of COVID-19. According to the CDC’s recommendation, cloth face coverings are recommended in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g. grocery stores and pharmacies). The CDC has
California
Judicial Council of California’s Emergency Orders Affecting Employment Actions
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 pandemic on California’s judicial branch, The Judicial Council of California met yesterday and issued emergency rules related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Overall, the Judicial Council of California issued eleven different orders, however, three of them will directly affect employment cases.
Statute of Limitations Tolls for All Civil Actions…
Childcare Relief for Essential Critical Infrastructure Employees
Many employees and employers, in recent weeks, have been adjusting to the new normal of working from home due to California’s Shelter-in-Place order. However, employers and their employees deemed part of the essential critical infrastructure face a different complication. One major issue facing essential employees is handling childcare issues in light of daycare and…
Additional Guidance on California’s Shelter-in-Place Order
On March 19, California Governor Newson issued a historic Executive Order N-33-20 (the “Order”) impacting approximately 40 million California residents. The Order directs all individuals living in California to stay at home “except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors” or to obtain essential needs, such as food, healthcare,…
State of California– Immediately Ordered to Shelter in Place
Effective March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20 (“Order”), directing all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructures. This Order shall stay in effect until further notice.
The directive is…
Cal/WARN Requirements Relaxed in the Face of COVID-19
As many counties in California issue executive orders and proclamations to either close certain businesses or shelter-in-place, California employers are faced with the difficult decision whether to lay off employees while they are closed. In the event of an immediate business closure, California employers were concerned with how to comply with the notice requirements…
Bay Area Counties Ordered to Shelter-in-Place
On March 16, 2019, six Bay Area counties issued Shelter-in-Place Orders (“the Orders”) limiting the operation and activities of residents and businesses in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Mateo Counties. The purpose of the Orders is to slow the spread of COVID-19.
When Do the Orders Take Effect?
The Orders…
California Mandates Elimination of Cost-Sharing by Health Plans for Coronavirus Testing
As the confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) rises in the U.S., more states are issuing directives regarding employee cost-sharing for screening and testing for the virus. Testing for COVID-19 is free if performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, the testing is expected to be offered more broadly by commercial labs.
On…
2020 Brings Changes to California Employment Laws
As 2019 comes to a close, here is a look ahead to some of the legislation going into effect on January 1, 2020, that affects employers in California.
Independent Contractors
Assembly Bill 5 codifies and clarifies the California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 4 Cal.
Like EEO-1 Component 2, California Pay Data Reporting Stalls
With the future of the EEOC’s pay data collection efforts unclear, California’s effort to legislate its own race- and sex-based pay data reporting requirements likewise has stalled, for now.
Since July, California’s Senate Bill 171 (requiring private employers with at least 100 employees to submit an annual report of employee pay data broken down by…