Author Archive
FOR THE RECORD
Sound Management Practices For Personnel Documentation As California supplies no specific definition for required personnel records, it falls to company management to judge what constitutes adequate documentation that reliably reflects each employee’s work history with the company. Labor Code section 1198.5 addresses employees’ rights to access their “personnel records” without defining the term. The Labor […]
TRAFFIC SLAMMING
New Fronts on California’s War Against Uber and Lyft Uber and Lyft have successfully battled suits seeking to prevent the companies from classifying their drivers as independent contractors, until now. On August 10 – in a misclassification action pending in San Francisco – the court issued a preliminary injunction requiring Uber and Lyft to convert […]
ONE BIG SCRAPPY FAMILY
California’s Coronavirus Response Statewide and Local August 7, 2020 The saga continues. After a month or more of eased restrictions, California’s “Statewide Public Health Officer Order” (July 13, 2020) required all counties to close indoor operations for • dine-in restaurants, • wineries and tasting rooms, • movie theaters, • family entertainment centers (for example: bowling alleys, miniature golf, […]
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION IN A PANDEMIC
California’s Updated COVID-19 FAQs Call for Careful Decision Making California employers must follow COVID-19 health and safety guidances including those from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the California Department of Public Health, and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Employers with five or more on payroll must also avoid violating […]
FOURTH AND LONG
California’s Employer Playbook For a Safe Reopening After four months of various degrees of “stay home,” “safer at home,” and “shelter in place,” California offers its Covid-19 Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening (July 24, 2020), an attempted comprehensive “guidance” for limiting workplace infection as the pandemic wears on. “Guidance” suggests recommendations, not the direct force […]
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 36 IS GIG UP FOR CAR WASH COMPANY?
First AB 5 Suit Challenging Independent Contractor Classification The California Labor Commissioner has filed her “AB 5” first lawsuit — against Mobile Wash, Inc. of Bellflower, CA — for misclassifying more than 100 mobile car washers as independent contractors under the state’s “ABC” test. See, The Mystery of it All – Employed or Independent? California Offers […]
OLDER FOLKS ARE PEOPLE TOO
Expanded Federal Pandemic Guidelines Allow Favorable Treatment for Aged 65-Plus Personnel The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) June 17 update of COVID-related guidelines (June 17 Update) offers first-time protocols for the management of aged 65-plus workers in pandemic times under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). COVID-19’s unprecedented circumstances have led the EEOC […]
CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE, UPDATED
Cities and Counties Requiring Paid Sick Leave Above and Beyond Federal Limits The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires most businesses with fewer than 500 employees to provide emergency paid sick leave benefits for workers affected by COVID-19. For example, covered employers must provide 80 hours of paid sick leave for full-time employees and two weeks of […]
MINISTERS AND MESSENGERS
Supreme Court Removes Discrimination Protections for a Wide Range of Church-Affiliated Employees To a degree, the First Amendment shields religious institutions from government involvement in employment disputes. The U.S. Supreme has recently broadened that protection to potentially place hundreds of thousands of parochial school teachers and other church-affiliated workers outside the reach of workplace discrimination laws. Our […]
CABIN FEVER IN A PANDEMIC
California’s Updated Coronavirus Response On June 28, 2020, Governor Newsom directed bars to close in five counties on the state’s watch list: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, and Tulare. These join two other counties – Imperial and San Joaquin – with bars already subject to such mandatory closings. The state has recommended bar closings in eight other […]