Seyfarth Synopsis: Every year California enacts a host of new laws that mean even the most diligent employers need to give their handbooks and policies a review and make sure they are up to date with the latest developments. Seyfarth has a few tips for making sure your handbook in the New Year stays compliant all year long (or at
Continue Reading New Year’s Resolution: Update Your Employee HandbookNew California Laws Focus on the Designated (and the) Survivor
Seyfarth Synopsis: Late into the 2021-2022 legislative period, California approved a set of bills —AB 1041 and AB 1949—that expand the CFRA and the Paid Sick Leave law and provide a statutory entitlement to bereavement leave for workers in the state. The new laws leave one to wonder whether California legislators were at least partly inspired by a particular action
Continue Reading New California Laws Focus on the Designated (and the) SurvivorCalifornia Employment Legislative Update: Pay Transparency Headlines 2022 Session
Seyfarth Synopsis: Taking it down to the wire, Governor Newsom approved the vast majority of labor and employment bills that ran the legislative gauntlet, including bills that will expand pay data reporting and pay scale disclosure requirements, extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, create mandatory wages and working conditions for fast food workers, and more.
On the night before his
Continue Reading California Employment Legislative Update: Pay Transparency Headlines 2022 SessionFinal Round: Employment Bills Making The Cut To The Governor
Seyfarth Synopsis: Having run the legislative gauntlet, the fate of California’s 2022 employment bills now lie with Governor Newsom’s pen, including bills that would expand pay data reporting and pay scale requirements, extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, and create mandatory wages and working conditions for fast food workers, and more.
August 31, 2022, marked the close of the 2022
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California Legislative Update: What’s Left To Affect You?
Seyfarth Synopsis: Headlining the employment-related bills that passed the May 27, 2022, House of Origin Deadline is AB 85, which extended COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to September of this year, as well as bills related to accommodations, leaves, retaliation, and workers’ compensation.
On the deadline for bill introduction, back in February, California legislators introduced 611 bills between the
Continue Reading California Legislative Update: What’s Left To Affect You?
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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California’s (Modern) Family Leave
Seyfarth Synopsis: In 2020, California enacted SB 1383 which, as of January 1, 2021, amended Government Code section 12945.2 to expand the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”). These changes will require employers who have been subject to the CFRA to ensure their policies are up to date, as well as bringing new employers into the family of businesses who must
Continue Reading California’s (Modern) Family Leave
Fall Into Handbook And Policy Update Season
Seyfarth Synopsis: Although there’s no right or wrong time to do a handbook and policy update, we recommend doing them annually, as California law continually changes. Fall is a good touch point to make changes for the next year start, particularly since new laws typically become effective on January 1.
Though it’s late October, California temperatures just now are dropping
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When Disaster Strikes: How Employers Should Respond to Wildfires
Seyfarth Synopsis: When faced with wildfires or natural disasters, California employers must keep calm, carry on, and continue to meet their obligations under California law.
Be Prepared.
All employers, not just those in California, must have an Emergency Action Plan (“EAP”) and Fire Prevention Plan (“FPP’).
California regulations state that an EAP should include (1) procedures for emergency evacuation, (2)
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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
Continue Reading Legislative Update: Governor Newsom Pens Halloween Terrors for California Employers