“Private” Arbitrations No Longer Private In California Effective January 1, 2015 in California, private arbitration companies, including the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), must publicly post certain previously-confidential information about their arbitrations. (Assembly Bill [AB] 802). AB 802 amends California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.96 to require AAA, […]
Abusive Conduct Prevention Training Now Required Every Two Years Effective January 1, 2015, a California employer must include prevention of abusive conduct as a component of legally-mandated sexual harassment training and education. (Assembly Bill [AB] 2053). Existing law requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least two hours of interactive training and […]
San Francisco Adopts a “Right to Request” Workplace Flexibility Ordinance (for employers with 20 or more on payroll) On January 1, 2014, San Francisco enacted a “right to request” ordinance which gives certain employees working in the City the right to seek flexible work arrangements to address family needs. The City has since amended the […]
Domestic Worker Bill of Rights Extends Wage Order Protections to Caregivers Our articles “Caring for Caregivers” and “Private Household Workers in California” caution that misunderstandings about California’s rules for household employees can be expensive. California’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (DWBR), effective January 1, 2014, drives home the need to properly pay the wages and […]
California Employers Get a Break The California Supreme Court has recently clarified this state’s workplace rest period laws. Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) (April 12, 2012). California law requires employers to provide their hourly employees with one paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or “major fraction thereof.” The Court confirmed […]
Employers are No Longer the Lunch Police In 2000, California enacted Labor Code 226.7, requiring employers to pay an employee an extra hour of compensation for “each work day that the [required] meal or rest period is not provided.” Fueled by that financial incentive, nearly overnight, and for the past 11 years, the vast majority […]
Over the past several months, we have been alerting our readers to important California labor laws new in 2012. Here’s a summary: California’s Wage Theft Prevention Act; Employers Must Supply an Additional Detailed Written Notice to Most New Hires: In addition to existing written notification requirements (including rights to equal employment opportunity, minimum wage and […]
Revisions to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act On January 1, 2012, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) will prohibit businesses from discriminating against applicants and employees based on genetic information. The new law will impose California standards tougher than the federal 2008Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA). Both the federal and California law are aimed at curbing discrimination of qualified and performing employees due to […]
Gender discrimination has been outlawed in the United States since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See, “Gender Equality and Discrimination in the Workplace.” On January 1, 2012, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) will expand the concept of gender to bar discrimination for “gender identity” and “gender expression.” Under this new FEHA provision, […]
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Senate Bill 299 into law extending health insurance coverage benefits for employees out on pregnancy disability leave, effective January 1, 2012. As covered in “Pregnancy Disability Leave,” California employers with five or more persons on payroll (whether full- or part-time) must provide any female employee up to four months […]