New and Proposed Laws and Legislation

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A handheld wireless telephone or electronic wireless communications device may be operated in a manner requiring the use of the driver’s hand while the driver is operating the vehicle only if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The handheld wireless telephone or electronic wireless communications device is mounted on a vehicle’s windshield in the same manner a portable Global Positioning System (GPS) is…

This bill expands the prohibition on smoking in a place of employment to include an owner-operated business. It also eliminates most of the specified exemptions that permit smoking in certain work environments, such as hotel lobbies, bars and taverns, banquet rooms, warehouse facilities, and employee break rooms. (ABX2-7.)

As of January 1, 2017, businesses with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour; the rate increases to $15.00 per hour in 2022. Smaller businesses (with 25 or fewer employees) will be required to pay the higher rates starting in 2018. Future increases in the minimum wage will be automatically linked to increases in the consumer price index. (…

Around this time last year, Section 1197.5 of the California Labor Code was amended by S.B. 358 in order to “eliminate the gender wage gap in California.” Among other things, the amendment sought to increase wage transparency and made it more difficult for employers to defend against gender-based equal pay claims.

On September 30, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed S.B. 1063, further expanding…

On the heels of North Carolina’s controversial legislation, which requires that people use the public restroom that corresponds to their biological gender rather than the gender with which they identify, California has gone in a different direction.

On September 29, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1732, which requires all single-user restroom facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government…

In the past, a California employer could freely inquire about and consider a job applicant’s history of criminal convictions in determining any condition of employment including hiring, promotion, or termination. Although California law prohibited employers from asking about or considering arrests or detentions that did not result in convictions, the law did not impose any restrictions regarding what types of convictions employers could ask about…

In yet another recent development on the hot topic of paid family leave, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved local legislation requiring businesses to provide employees with up to 6 weeks of fully paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child.  With this ordinance, San Francisco becomes the first city in the United States to offer parental leave at…

On April 4, 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 3, which will increase California’s minimum wage annually, reaching $15 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees by January 1, 2022.  This bill enacts the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, on par with New York, which enacted a bill mandating a $15 minimum wage last week.

Governor Brown opposed the bill…

This law expands the Labor Commissioner’s authority with regard to the enforcement of judgments. For example, the law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to issue a lien on an employer’s property for amounts owed to an employee, such as unpaid wages, and other compensation, penalties, and interest. The law also provides that an owner, director, officer or managing agent of the employer may be held personally…