Seyfarth Synopsis: California enacted its Immigrant Worker Protection Act (IWPA) to make it more difficult for federal immigration enforcement agents to access nonpublic areas of employer worksites and private employee records. The U.S. Justice Department, however, recently persuaded a federal district court to issue a preliminary injunction against IWPA provisions that bar employers from voluntarily providing immigration enforcement agents with
Continue Reading Can California Revive Its Immigrant Worker Protection Act?

Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s new law, Assembly Bill 450, signed by Governor Brown on October 5, and effective January 1, 2018, imposes several new immigration-related duties on California employers and the potential for civil fines. AB 450 will require employers to understand or seek guidance on where the new law ends and federal immigration law begins. The complexities of U.S. immigration
Continue Reading AB 450: California’s Law of Unintended Immigration Consequences

Seyfarth Synopsis: New statutory obligations for California employers in 2018 will include prohibitions on inquiries into applicants’ salary and conviction histories, expanding CFRA to employees of smaller employers, expansion of mandatory harassment training to include content on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and new immigration-related restrictions and obligations.

California Governor Jerry Brown spent his last day to sign
Continue Reading 2017 Labor & Employment Legislative Update: It’s Finally Over! (For Now…)

Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Jerry Brown has till October 15 to approve bills the Legislature sent to his desk by its Friday, September 15, deadline, including bills that would require employers to ”show us the money” for certain employees and to make “mum be the word” for an applicant’s past conviction history.

The 2017 California Legislative Session kicked off on January
Continue Reading 2017 Labor & Employment Legislative Update: The End is Near!

Seyfarth Synopsis: Pay equity and Ban The Box bills lead the list of bills approved to continue their quest (moving to the other house of the California Legislature) to become California law.

Friday, June 2, marked the last day for bills in the California Legislature to pass out of their house of origin—the Senate or Assembly—and continue the legislative process
Continue Reading 2017 Labor & Employment Legislative Update: House of Origin Deadline

Seyfarth Synopsis: Back from Spring Break, and Back to Work: Our List of L&E Bills to Watch in the remainder of the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session.

New LegislationCalifornia Legislators were, as always, very busy in the first few months of the 2017-18 Legislative Session, introducing well over 2000 bills by the February 17th bill introduction deadline. But, in comparison to prior
Continue Reading 2017 California Labor and Employment Legislative Update: What to Watch