Kate Gold
Partner
Kate Gold is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department in the Los Angeles office.
Kate has over 25 years of experience representing clients in a range of industries, across all areas of employment law. An experienced litigator, she has represented clients in all types of employment-related suits, including class and collective actions, discrimination, retaliation and harassment, non-compete and wage/hour matters. In addition to litigating, she conducts high-level workplace investigations and routinely counsels clients on matters involving the full range of state and federal employment issues.
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Last Thursday, Assembly Bill 1179 was introduced to require California employers with 1,000 or more to provide “backup ” for children under 14. To be eligible for the benefit, employees who work in California would need to have been employed by the company for at least 30 days. If passed and signed into law, this … Continue Reading
UPDATED February 18, 2021: The portal is now open and can be accessed on DFEH’s pay data reporting homepage along with the guide, template, and example. UPDATED February 3, 2021: The DFEH has released a User Guide, reporting Template, and reporting Example. The portal will be available on February 16, 2021. SB 973, enacted on … Continue Reading
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided, at the request of the Ninth Circuit, that its decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018) applies retroactively. Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (SC S258191 1/14/21). Dynamex adopted the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker is an employee … Continue Reading
On September 9, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1867 (“AB 1867”), which is intended to fill gaps left by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The new law requires that private employers with 500 or more employees in the United States provide eligible (non-food sector) employees with up to 80 hours of supplemental … Continue Reading
Last Friday, September 4, Governor Newsom signed AB 2257, which includes a slew of modifications to the now-infamous AB5, which went into effect this year and codified the strict ABC independent contractor test, which we have addressed previously in this blog. With this new amendment, there are now more than 100 exemptions and limitations to … Continue Reading
Last week, Uber Technologies, Inc. and Lyft, Inc. announced that they would suspend ridesharing operations in the State of California in response to an August 10, 2020 San Francisco Superior Court judge’s preliminary injunction, requiring the companies to reclassify their California drivers as “employees” within 10 days. The order came in the context of a … Continue Reading
Even after the Supreme Court’s favorable decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (“Epic”), California courts will not compel a PAGA claim to arbitration. In Collie v. The Icee Co., a former employee of The Icee Company, Tauran Collie, alleged a single cause of action under California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) against her former … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s State Public Health Officer cleared the music, film and television industry to resume work no earlier than this Friday, June 12, 2020, subject to county-by-county approval. On June 10, 2020, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, announced that she was … Continue Reading
On Friday June 5, Gov. Newsom announced that California has authorized the music, film and television production industries to reopen on or after this coming Friday, June 12, 2020. The same day, Gov. Newsom announced the reopening of fitness facilities, day camps, and several other industries. Although the State Public Health Officer had been … Continue Reading
As we discussed in a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter in April, the entertainment industry faces unique challenges as it plans to resume operations. On May 20, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that California would release guidelines for reopening the entertainment industry by Memorial Day. However, to date, California’s Public Health Officer has not … Continue Reading
Today, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Kim v. Reins Int’l Cal., Inc., holding that an employee’s settlement and dismissal of underlying Labor Code claims does not deprive the individual of the ability to later assert a representative action under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”)—even if it involves the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the full Ninth Circuit held that an employer cannot rely on an individual’s prior salary to justify a wage disparity between a male and female employee. In Rizo v. Yovino, a female math teacher brought a claim under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) against the school district for paying her substantially less than her … Continue Reading
On January 31, 2020, Chief United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller enjoined California from enforcing AB 51. This new legislation prohibits employers from requiring their employees to sign arbitration agreements. Last week, the court issued its detailed written opinion explaining the basis for its decision. As we predicted, the Court found that AB 51 is … Continue Reading
On Monday, Uber, Postmates and two of their drivers filed a lawsuit in federal court in the Central District of California, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and a determination that AB-5 is unconstitutional. AB-5 is set to become effective on Wednesday, January 1st and will have a major impact on California’s freelance workforce as well … Continue Reading
Here’s a comprehensive list of the new employment-related statutes enacted and signed into law in the Golden State (effective Jan. 1, 2020 unless otherwise specified): AB 5 (Gonzalez, D-San Diego) makes it extremely difficult for most California employers to hire an independent contractor and would convert such workers into “employees” in the eyes of the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court held that private litigants may not recover unpaid wages under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). See ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court (Lawson) (Cal. S. Ct. Sept. 12, 2019). In a rearguard effort to fight employment arbitration agreements, which usually include class action waivers, plaintiffs’ lawyers have been … Continue Reading
California Employers May Be Required to Subsidize Backup Childcare
California Updates Its Pay Data Reporting Requirements – Reports are due by March 31, 2021!
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Michelle Lappen on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law
The ABCs of Independent Contractor Classification: California Supreme Court Holds Strict Independent Contractor Test Applies Retroactively
California’s New Supplemental Paid COVID-19 Sick Leave, Effective September 19, 2020
By Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Leaves of Absence, Paid Sick Leave
California Amends Independent Contractor Law (Again) – New Exemptions for Music Industry Workers, Freelance Writers and Photographers
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Pietro Deserio on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
“Oh, We Were Just Leaving!”: California Court Halts Order Requiring Uber and Lyft to Reclassify Drivers
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
California Court of Appeal Confirms that PAGA Claims Cannot be Compelled to Arbitration
By Kate Gold, Philippe A. Lebel and Cole Lewis on Posted in PAGA
Mask On, Roll Camera: LA County Greenlights Hollywood Production Restart
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Entertainment Industry
The Wait is (Almost) Over! California Greenlights Resumption of Music, Film and Television Production
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Entertainment Industry
Lights, Camera, PPE: Hollywood Guilds and Studios Take Action On Resuming Production
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Entertainment Industry
California Supreme Court Hands Plaintiffs’ Lawyers A Gift…
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in PAGA, Wage and Hour
9th Circuit Holds that Prior Salary is Not a Defense to An Equal Pay Act Claim
By Kate Gold and Cole Lewis on Posted in Equal Pay Act
Federal Court Strikes Down California’s “Request Arbitration, Go to Jail” Law
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Cole Lewis on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, California Labor & Employment Law, FAA
Uber and Postmates File Lawsuit Challenging California’s New Independent Contractor Law (AB-5)
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold, Kate Napalkova and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
Take That, Employers! California is Done (for Now) with this Year’s Legislative Thrashing
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, New and Proposed Laws and Legislation
California Supreme Court Hands Employers A Rare Victory, Trims Bloated PAGA Claims
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, PAGA, Uncategorized
