Much of California’s employer-employee relationship is defined by seventeen separate Wage Orders, each one regulating a different industry or occupation. One of the Wage Order provisions that sparked controversy recently concerns mandatory employee rest breaks. In a decision promising broad application, the California Supreme Court’s straightforward reading of the term “rest break” translates into a Read more
Products sold in California, and restaurants, workplaces and other environments located in California, that contain or expose people to chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, will soon be required to provide more specificity in the warnings they provide to the public. California’s amended “Prop 65” regulations require not only new warning statements, but Read more
Just six months after increasing the penalties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Department of Labor has announced another adjustment to the penalties for FLSA violations. The first adjustment was made last August pursuant to the Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act). The Inflation Read more
In December, the District of Columbia passed the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (UPLA), a measure that is poised to become the nation’s most generous paid family and medical leave law. The UPLA entitles employees to eight weeks of paid parental leave, six weeks of paid family leave, and two weeks of paid Read more
San Diego’s minimum wage earners just got a $1.00 bump in their hourly wages. Effective January 1, 2017, San Diego’s minimum wage rate increased to $11.50 per hour. It’s the second raise workers received in the last six months. Just last June, San Diego voters approved increasing the minimum wage to $10.50 per hour. San Read more
San Francisco, CA employers perhaps have the most posting compliance responsibilities of any employers in the nation. For San Francisco employers, this year is no exception. Substantial changes were just made to three of the required workplace postings. Employers are required to post these updates immediately: Health Care Security Ordinance Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Paid Read more
Starting January 1st, Vermont workers will have extra peace of mind when they miss work because of an illness or injury. Vermont’s Earned Sick Time Act goes into effect on Sunday requiring all employers doing business in or operating in the State of Vermont to provide earned sick time to their employees that can be Read more
In April 2016, California enacted legislation (CA SB 3) raising the state’s minimum wage rate each year for the next five years. Consistent with this enactment, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) amended the General Minimum Wage Order and each of the industry and occupation orders (IWCs) to reflect the minimum wage rates established under Read more
Last May we first blogged about federal OSHA’s controversial Final Rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses.” The Final Rule requires, among other things, employers to specifically inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation. This provision, referred to as the “anti-retaliation” rule, was originally scheduled to Read more
The City of Los Angeles is joining a growing list of cities and states to “ban the box” by removing questions about job applicants’ criminal histories from job applications. The recently adopted “Fair Chance Initiative” (the “Ordinance”) will prohibit Los Angeles employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history or from performing any form of Read more
