As we reported previously, the California legislature recently passed and Gov. Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 51, which would impose criminal penalties upon employers seeking to have their employees sign arbitration agreements – it is in short the “Request Arbitration, Go to Jail” law. Today, United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller granted a temporary restraining order, enjoining the state from enforcing AB
Adjusting To The “New Normal” With AB 5 – A World Without Independent Contractors
On January 1, 2020, California’s new worker classification law known as Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), goes into effect. AB 5 codifies the three-factor “ABC” test adopted by the California Supreme Court in its 2018 Dynamex decision.
The bulk of newly added Section 2750.3 of the California Labor Code describes the various categories of workers and businesses that were fortunate enough to negotiate an
California’s Arbitration Ban Challenged in Federal Court
As expected, California’s effort to ban employers from requiring employees and applicants to sign an arbitration agreement has been challenged in federal court. The lawsuit was filed by a business coalition that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation.
AB-51 was signed into law in October along with a constellation of other new laws targeting employers in the state. The bill
“OK, Boomer!”: Not Okay In the Office
As recently highlighted by the New York Times, a new phrase emblematic of the real or perceived “War Between the Generations” has gone viral: “OK, Boomer!” The phrase, popularized on the Internet and, in particular, Twitter by Generation Z and Millennials, has been used to dismiss baby boomers’ thoughts and opinions, sometimes viewed by younger generations as paternalistic or just out of
November 2019 California Employment Law Notes
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2019 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
Two Important Stragglers Among California’s New Labor Laws
Last week, we blogged about the avalanche of new labor laws that California employers will face in 2020. Here are two late additions to the list — just in time for Halloween!:
AB 61 (Ting, D-San Francisco) grants employers and coworkers the right to petition a court to issue a gun violence restraining order, which prevents an individual who presents a threat to
Take That, Employers! California is Done (for Now) with this Year’s Legislative Thrashing
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 law. Read more here.
- AB 170 (Gonzalez, D-San Diego)
California Enacts a Raft of New Employment Laws
On Thursday, October 10, 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law several new measures that employers will need to comply with by January 1, 2020 and that will generally make it easier for employees to sue their employers. Specifically:
- AB 9 extends the statute of limitations period for employees to file claims of discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation with the California Department of Fair Employment
Stray Kitty Moonlights as Lawyer
Following passage of AB-5, the recent string of multi-million dollar employee jury verdicts, and other challenging developments, we concluded that our subscribers need some feel-good news every meow and then (sorry).
An association of lawyers in Brasília, Brazil has hired Leon the cat as one of their new “attorneys” in order to lighten the mood around the office and to give Leon
Employees Will Be Exempted from Most Requirements of the Amended California Consumer Privacy Act … For Now
In an effort to give consumers more control over the data businesses collect from and about them, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018 (and amended it a few months later). The CCPA gives consumers the right to know about and have deleted the data businesses have gathered about them, among other rights. However, the CCPA applies to