Seyfarth Synopsis: On Saturday, October 9, 2021 Governor Newsom signed the last of 2021’s pending employment-related bills, including a bill imposing even more restrictions on settlement agreements. The new laws will become effective on January 1, 2022. This post summarizes the new approvals as well as other new key employment laws with which California employers will need to comply.
California Legislative Update: House Of Origin Deadline Unplugs Employment Bills
Seyfarth Synopsis: While the Buggles took creative liberties when they claimed that Video Killed The Radio Star, the House of Origin deadline axed a number of employment-related bills. California legislators began this legislative session at the apex of the pandemic, introducing a flurry of COVID-19-related bills, many of which failed to survive the June 4, 2021 deadline to pass
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Ninth Circuit Applies AB 5 Against Interstate Motor Carriers
Seyfarth Synopsis: Back in January 2020, a federal district court enjoined the State of California from enforcing AB 5, a law about classification of independent contractors, against interstate motor carriers (see our prior piece here). Now, in a split 2-1 decision, a Ninth Circuit panel has reversed the district court, and held that the Federal Aviation Administration
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Legislative Update: Paid Leave and Accommodation Tops 2021 Legislative Year
Seyfarth Synopsis: Headlining the number of employment-related bills California legislators introduced by the February 19th deadline are those that would extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave and provide other leaves and accommodations.
After last year’s pandemic-caused truncation of the 2020 legislative session—in which the governor signed only 372 new laws, the fewest since 1967—many expected the introduction of a large
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As Easy as 1-2-3, Court Rules ABC Test Applies Retroactively
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court held that the worker friendly “ABC” test set forth by the Court in its 2018 landmark ruling, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, applies retroactively. The ABC test thus applies to all pending cases governed by the California Wage Orders in determining whether a worker is an
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AB 2257: Sweeping Changes To AB 5 Independent Contractor Law
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5, a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took effect on January 1, 2020. Now, with the passage, executive signature, and immediate enactment of Assembly Bill 2257, businesses must once again adapt to another drastic shift in the employee
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California Employment Legislative Update: Time for Governor Newsom to Get to Work
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature has passed a series of employment-related bills for Governor Newsom to consider. He has until September 30 to approve or veto these bills, most of which relate to leaves of absence and COVID relief.
Monday, August 31st (or, really, the wee hours of September 1) marked the Legislature’s last day to pass bills to Governor
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GoT’s All-Seeing Three-Eyed Raven: The Gig Economy in California
Seyfarth Synopsis: The controversy surrounding AB 5 unveiled a clear need for a new avenue of classifying so-called gig workers to combine the certainty of employee designations with the flexibility of gig jobs. What are the promises of and prospects for a hybrid classification that would provide workers with some employee benefits while also providing workers and companies some of
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Something’s Afoot in Tinsel Town: New Laws for the Entertainment Industry
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two new California laws are set to significantly affect the entertainment industry: one will deal a giant blow to productions and studios accustomed to hiring independent contractors; the other will give print shoot productions the opportunity to process payments with regular payroll and avoid liability for not issuing payments at wrap.
Some Not-So-Entertaining News
California’s landmark Assembly Bill
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Legislative Update: Governor Newsom Pens Halloween Terrors for California Employers
Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Newsom has approved some of the bills most feared by employers, including bills to ban employment arbitration, extend FEHA administrative deadlines, codify the Dynamex ABC test, and create San Francisco-style lactation-accommodation requirements. Governor Newsom also vetoed a few bills that we might expect to be re-introduced in the same or similar form during 2020.
Governor Newsom acted
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