Articles

By: Rebecca L. Gombos, Esq. and Kristina Kourasis, Esq. With California’s new sexual harassment laws, we expect sexual harassment claims to increase as the floodgates of reporting have opened up, prompting many to revisit their workplace policies and training. What is not obvious to many companies is how to deal with this change. With the […]

According to a recent California Supreme Court decision, California employers cannot require employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, even if only for a few minutes.  The Court’s ruling in Troester v. Starbucks should be a warning to all employers to review their timekeeping procedures to ensure that all time worked is recorded and compensated. Douglas […]

By Muhannad A. Malki. Social Service agencies (both for profit and non-profit) working via contract with various Regional Centers and/or DMH (Department of Mental Health) are now being contractually obligated to carry Privacy/Cyber Liability Insurance. This has been a naturally progressing inevitability as Cyber risks and exposures continue to grow. Additionally, California recently enacted the […]

The Property Service Workers Protection Act is a law that went into effect January 1, 2017 to protect janitors against wage theft and sexual harassment. The Act has three parts: record keeping, registration with the Labor Commissioner’s Office, and sexual harassment training. The Act requires all janitorial employers to: Keep detailed records for three years (see below for […]

You may have noticed that the federal Department of Labor (DOL) forms used to manage leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) expired on May 31, 2018. If you looked for updated forms before they expired, you would not have found any. Here is why: The federal DOL has to submit forms to […]

In its recent and much anticipated Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of class and collective action waivers in arbitration agreements. In light of the Epic Systems Corp. decision, attached is a sample arbitration agreement which includes a class action waiver. However, do not implement the agreement […]

The California Supreme Court just issued a landmark decision that makes it extremely difficult for businesses to classify individuals as independent contractors. When making a decision about classification, companies previously analyzed the level of control they would exercise over the individual. Under the new test, a person will be considered an independent contractor only if […]

Recently, our office has received many questions regarding investigations conducted by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s (“DLSE”) Bureau of Field Enforcement, or “BOFE” for short. In some cases, the questions stem from a BOFE subpoena requesting that the employer provide information ranging from payroll records to text messages. In other cases, the questions stem […]

Effective January 1, 2018, California’s New Parent Leave Act for Small Employers (SB 63) requires California employers with 20-49 employees within a 75-mile radius to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave to new parents for the purpose of bonding with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or […]