California Employment Law Update
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Wesley C. Shelton

Associate

Wesley counsels clients in a wide range of labor and employment legal matters, including wage and hour issues, personnel policies and procedures, employee discipline matters, leaves of absence, WARN Act compliance, and labor and employment law issues that arise in corporate transactions. He also drafts and reviews employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, commission and bonus plans, separation agreements, and other documents related to the entire life cycle of the employment relationship.

Wesley has litigated a variety of unlawful termination cases in state and federal court. He previously served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, working at U.S. Embassies and Consulates in West Africa and Mexico.

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California Supreme Court Expands Employee Whistleblower Protections

  The California Supreme Court has held that an employee who makes a whistleblower complaint to his or her employer may bring a retaliation claim under the whistleblower statute (California Labor Code § 1102.5(b)) even if the subject of the complaint was already known.  Previous case law held that an employee whistleblower complaint regarding an … Continue Reading

Work From Home Trend Reverses

A pair of recent studies reported here indicates that the pandemic-related remote workforce trend shows signs of reversal.  According to a recent survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, 72.5% of business establishments reported that their employees teleworked rarely or not at all in 2022.  That number was 60.1% in 2021.  A second survey … Continue Reading

California Minimum Wage Increases for 2023

Effective January 1, 2023, California employers will be required to meet new minimum wage requirements, at both the state and local level.  This increase in the minimum wage affects not only non-exempt employees, but also the minimum annual salary requirement for overtime exempt employees. Increase and Consolidation of the California Minimum Wage Previously, the State … Continue Reading

Five New Employment Laws that Every California Employer Should Know

A new year brings new employment laws for California employers.  California employers will want to begin revising employee policies and handbooks now, so that they are prepared to comply with these new laws when the majority of them go into effect on January 1, 2023.  Here are five new employment laws that every California employer … Continue Reading

EMPLOYMENT ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS REMAIN LEGAL IN CALIFORNIA – AT LEAST FOR NOW!

As we previously reported here, in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. v. Bonta, 13 F.4th 766 (9th Cir. 2021), a three member panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected California Labor Code Section 432.6, which prohibited employers from requiring California employees to agree to arbitrate their employment-related disputes. In a new twist, … Continue Reading

Employee with Mild Symptoms of COVID-19 Was Not “Disabled” Under California Law

In Michelle Roman v. Hertz Local Edition Corp., a United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Hertz, and against former employee Michelle Roman, whose employment was terminated after she contracted COVID.  Roman claimed that her job should have been protected by the California Fair Employment … Continue Reading

At-Will Employees May Sue Their Employer For Misrepresentation Of Intended Job Duties

A recent California Court of Appeal decision confirms that a California employer may be liable to an at-will employee who relocates to accept a new employment position, when the employer’s description of the kind or character of the job was misleading.  In the case Kenneth Allen White v. Smule, Inc., the Court of Appeal reversed … Continue Reading

California Safety Board Narrows Emergency Temporary Standards (Effective Immediately)

As we previously reported (here), Cal/OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“OSHSB”) held a series of special meetings to revise its controversial Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  And, on June 17, 2021, OSHSB approved updated ETS language that more closely aligns California’s workplace safety requirements with recommendations from the … Continue Reading
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