Photo of Lisa Barnett Sween

Lisa Barnett Sween is office managing principal of the San Francisco, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She represents employers in all aspects of employment law and litigation, including state and federal employment harassment and discrimination litigation, wrongful discharge litigation, FMLA, CFRA, ADA, and wage and hour litigation.

In addition to her litigation expertise, Lisa regularly counsels employers on preventive employment policies and practices involving all areas of federal, state and local employment law, including recruiting and hiring, employee handbooks, leaves of absence, discipline and termination, workforce reductions, discrimination and harassment, reasonable accommodation and wage and hour. She has also conducted over 200 hours of harassment prevention training in various jurisdictions throughout the United States.

In a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit, the Court of Appeals upheld the district court ruling in favor of grocery chain WinCo Holdings, Inc., holding that plaintiffs who were not yet employees when they took drug tests were not entitled to compensation for the time spent being tested.

In Johnson v. WinCo Foods Holdings

While many counties around California moved into accelerated reopening, San Francisco County set its own pace. Though San Francisco has paused some reopening for now, as COVID-19 infection rates change, additional businesses will eventually be permitted to reopen.

San Francisco created detailed requirements for businesses, whether essential or otherwise, to follow during the

As businesses reopen, employers will almost certainly be faced with the potential of a COVID-19 outbreak in the workplace. In addition to the industry-specific guidance for reopening that the State of California has issued, the California Department of Public Health (the Department) recently issued guidance for employers responding to a COVID-19 outbreak in the workplace.

Last week, San Francisco announced expanded eligibility for paid sick leave under its Paid Sick Leave Ordinance and announced the Workers and Families First Program, which provides city-funded additional sick leave pay for employees working in San Francisco.

Expanded Use of Paid Sick Leave

Since late 2006, San Francisco has had its own Paid Sick

On December 16, 2014, the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association filed suit in federal court seeking to enjoin the City of Los Angeles from implementing the new Hotel Workers Act, which would put in place one of the nation’s highest minimum wages, targeted specifically to hotel workers in the largest hotels. The Act raises the hourly minimum wage for large-hotel workers in Los Angeles to $15.37. Hotels with more than 300 rooms would need to comply beginning July 2015, while hotels with at least 150 rooms will have another year to comply.
Continue Reading Los Angeles Minimum Wage Increase for Hotel Workers May Have Far Reaching Implications