Since the passage of California Assembly Bill (AB) 5 in 2019, there have been subsequent legal challenges and revised legislation that continues to shape the status of independent contractors and related employment law issues in California. Keeping track of all the cases and exemptions related to AB 5 is almost as difficult as determining who
Wage and Hour
New Law Exempts Certain Airline Cabin Crew from California Meal and Rest Period Requirements
Existing law requires an employer to provide an employee with a meal period during a work period of more than five hours per day, except as prescribed. However, on March 23, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 41, which provides that California’s meal and rest period requirements do not apply to airline cabin…
No Fooling: City of Los Angeles Retail Fair Workweek Ordinance Takes Effect April 1, 2023
In November 2022, the City of Los Angeles passed the Retail Fair Workweek Ordinance. The ordinance is set to take effect on April 1, 2023. The ordinance sets forth requirements for retail businesses in handling scheduling and providing work schedules to employees. Covered employees are anyone working in the City of Los Angeles…
California Court of Appeal Upholds Proposition 22 as Mostly Constitutional
Three years ago, California voters approved Proposition 22, the “Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act,” which allowed app-based rideshare and delivery companies to hire drivers as independent contractors if certain conditions were met. This week the California Court of Appeal mostly upheld the Proposition as constitutional.
Proposition 22 went into effect in 2021 and…
California Court of Appeal Addresses When Violations are “Willful” or “Knowing and Intentional” for Grant of Certain Wage and Hour Penalties
In May 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Systems, which considered the issue of whether failing to pay premium wages for meal and rest period violations gave rise to claims for waiting time penalties or violations of wage statement requirements.
The underlying action was a class action…
New FAQs Dramatically Expand Scope of California “Labor Contractor Employee” Pay Data Reporting
This year, employers in California have updated pay data reports to submit to the state’s Civil Rights Department (CRD). Senate Bill (SB) 1162, passed in 2022, updated previous employee pay data reporting obligations and created an entirely new obligation to pay data reporting related to “employees hired through labor contractors.” This year, these pay…
The Basics of California’s Outside Salesperson Exemption
It is well-known that California law is often more strict than federal law. Just as California handles overtime differently than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), California law also treats aspects of overtime exemptions differently than the FLSA. One such difference is the Outside Salesperson exemption.
Under the FLSA, an outside sales employee is…
The City of Los Angeles Announces the Minimum Wage Rate Increase for July 2023
While the State of California and several cities across the state increased their minimum wages on January 1, 2023, some cities—including the City of Los Angeles—will increase their minimum wage in July 2023.
On February 1, 2023, the City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards announced the coming increase for July 1, 2023.
California Civil Rights Department Updates FAQs on Pay Data Reporting
When Senate Bill (SB) 1162 was signed in 2022, much of the focus was on the new pay transparency requirements. However, the bill also amended pay data reporting requirements in California. Under the amendments covered employers would need to submit separate pay data reports for employees hired through labor contractors. In addition, reporting would need…
The City of Berkeley Passed a Fair Work Week Ordinance
On December 13, 2022, the City of Berkeley passed the Fair Workweek Employment Standards Ordinance on the second reading. The ordinance will take effect in January 2023; however, it will not become operative until 2024 according to the terms of the ordinance.
Covered Employers
The ordinance applies to any employer in the City of Berkeley…