On July 13th two of the largest school districts in California, Los Angeles Unified School District and San Diego Unified School District announced that the school year would start in August with students attending virtually – only. They have been joined by several school districts in Orange County, San Francisco , and Sacramento.
Disability and Leave
Bereavement Leave, the Next Potential Mandated Leave in California
California is known for having a multitude of leaves available to employees from sick leave to organ donation leave. Despite this, California has not mandated employers provide bereavement leave for employees. Many businesses do include unpaid leave for employees to attend funerals and other related services, but such leave is not required under state law.…
The City of Oakland Passes Supplemental Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Following in the footsteps of the cities of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, and San Jose, the City of Oakland adopted a new supplemental emergency sick leave ordinance on May 18, 2020. The ordinance takes effect immediately and is intended to apply to employers who are not covered by…
Serial ADA Plaintiff Declared Vexatious Litigant in Federal Court in California
On April 19, 2020, Judge James V. Selna of the United States District Court, Central District of California, granted a motion to declare pro se plaintiff Peter Strojnik, Sr. a vexatious litigant, requiring him to obtain the permission of the Court before filing any future accessibility lawsuits with the District Court. Federal courts by statute…
Los Angeles County Passed a Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Ordinance to Cover Employers in Unincorporated Areas of the County
Last week, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors enacted an urgency ordinance to require employers with 500 or more employees nationally to provide supplemental paid sick leave to covered employees for COVID-19 related reasons. The County’s ordinance applies only to businesses in unincorporated areas of the County and to employees who perform any work within…
Expanded Wage Replacement Entitlements for California Employees Caring for Children During COVID-19 School Closures
Before the COVID-19 crisis, there were limited paid leave entitlements in California for employees requiring time off to deal with childcare and school closures. California Labor Code 230.8 required that employers of 25 or more employees working at the same location were required to provide employees with up to 40 hours of unpaid leave within…
San Jose Issues Guidance and Opinion Letter Regarding Supplemental COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
Soon after San Jose passed its supplemental paid sick leave ordinance to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, it issued further guidance regarding the leave. The Director of the Office of Equality Assurance, the office charged with enforcement of the emergency ordinance, has also issued an opinion letter to provide additional information.
The opinion letter addresses…
Mayor of San Francisco Signs Amended Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance
Late April 17th, Mayor Breed signed the supplemental paid sick leave ordinance that earlier in the week, the Board of Supervisors had amended and passed. This was the same day that Mayor Breed announced an order requiring all individuals in public to wear face coverings.
The ordinance, like those passed by the…
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Amends Pending Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (PHELO)
San Francisco remains at the forefront of COVID-19 related relief to those employees who work within the City and County limits. Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has continued this effort and passed the Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (PHELO). PHELO is an emergency ordinance set to temporarily require private employers with 500…
State-Wide Supplemental Paid Sick Leave for Food Sector Workers
In recent weeks, San Jose and Los Angeles have passed ordinances to provide supplemental paid sick leave to employees not otherwise covered by the recently enacted federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). San Francisco has a similar ordinance pending. On April 16th, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-51-20, which provides COVID-19 related…