The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 decision granting anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ workers left room for future challenges by religious employers.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Carves Out Religious Exemption to LGBTQ+ Discrimination Claims
The Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) recently issued new guidance in the form of FAQs to plan sponsors and administrators of group health plans to assist with them with preparations for the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency.
Continue Reading New Guidance Issued for Employers Regarding End of COVID-19 Emergencies
The New Year usually means new laws for California employers. This year, a new privacy law goes into effect with new mandates for employers to ensure that workers have more control over the collection and use of their personal information.
Continue Reading New Year Brings New Privacy Laws to California Employers
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to take a closer look at the enforceability of arbitration agreements that bar representative claims brought under PAGA, a California law that allows individual employees to police labor code violations.
Continue Reading SCOTUS Could Deliver Good News to California Employers Looking to Enforce Class Action Waivers Against PAGA Claims
A California appellate court recently upended a representative PAGA and class action settlement because the named plaintiff did not exhaust administrative remedies under PAGA because he failed to identify each separate theory of liability.
Continue Reading A Cautionary Tale for Employers Who Settle Dueling PAGA Claims
California employers will need to reconsider the way they calculate premium payments for meal and rest break violations following a recent decision of the California Supreme Court.
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Adopts New Premium Pay Calculation for Meal and Rest Break Violations
While COVID-19 may have hit the business community like a hurricane, whether the pandemic, in fact, qualifies for a natural disaster exception under the federal law requiring businesses to warn employees of impending layoffs, remains an open question. This February, a federal judge paved the way for the Eleventh Circuit to weigh in on whether a class action can proceed against an employer who was forced to lay off employees due to COVID-19.
Continue Reading The Eleventh Circuit Could Tackle Whether COVID-19 is a Disaster for WARN Purposes with Companies Facing Continued Layoffs
California employers now have some guidance from the state in implementing the new “Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulations” that went into effect on November 30.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Releases Guidance for Employers on Emergency COVID-19 Regulations
Beginning in January, an expanded California leave law will require employers with as few as five employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical and family leave each year. For larger employers also covered by the FMLA, the California leave may be in addition to the 12 weeks of leave that employers already must provide under federal law, for a potential total of up to six-months of leave.
Continue Reading California Expands Family and Medical Leave Law
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has joined several sister circuits in holding that courts should consider the amount of “possible” and not “probable” punitive damages in determining the $5 million amount-in-controversy for federal jurisdiction in class action cases.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Says Reasonable Possibility of Punitive Damages Will Suffice for Amount-in-Controversy Under CAFA