Seyfarth Synopsis:  California Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act (AB 1209), which would have required California employers to produce pay data, without consideration of legitimate reasons for differences in pay, to the Secretary of State, who then would publish the data on the internet.

Read about this development in a recent post to
Continue Reading California’s “Naming and Shaming” Gender Pay Bill is Toast, But Pay Equity Headaches Remain: Tomorrow’s Free Webinar on Pay Equity Laws

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:  After two previous failed attempts, California joins seven other U.S. jurisdictions to prohibit inquiries into an applicant’s salary history.  Read on for a recap of the new law.

With Governor Jerry Brown signing AB 168 into law today, California joins Delaware, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia (currently pending legal challenge)
Continue Reading Third Time’s The Charm For California Salary History Ban Legislation

Seyfarth Synopsis: This post continues our blog series on the Future of Work, and discusses how, in California as elsewhere, performance management strategies continue to develop in response to the changing workplace. Access our prior Future of Work posts (on independent contractors in California and the effects of job automation) here and here.

Innovation in employee management has
Continue Reading Future of Work III: Performance Management in Today’s Environment

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: On September 11, AB 1209, the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act, which would require larger employers in California to publish differences in pay between male and female employees and Board members, left the Legislature on route to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his approval or veto. A statewide salary history ban may soon be headed to his desk,
Continue Reading With EEO-1 Pay Report Gone, California Moves to Fill the Gap

Seyfarth Synopsis: Private employers can face competing obligations when it comes to responding to employees’  expressive conduct. Employee rights may collide with employer obligations to maintain a safe and harassment-free work environment, not to mention the employer’s interest in maintaining productivity and avoiding adverse publicity. Here are some guiding principles.

“How’s work?” A common question, whether at a party, catching
Continue Reading Not Just Sticks and Stones: When Should Employers Step In?

Seyfarth Synopsis: California courts are often hostile towards defendants that seek to require litigious employees to honor their arbitration agreements. The defendant’s plight might seem more stark still if the defendant has not itself signed the agreement. But defendant employers still have means of enforcing such agreements, which can be especially significant in class actions claiming joint employment. 

Despite the
Continue Reading No Signature? No Problem! Enforcing Arbitration Even Without Everyone Signing

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Trump Administration’s hard line on immigration has concerned undocumented immigrants who want to raise wage claims. The LWDA recently reaffirmed a commitment to protect workers regardless of their immigration status.

California has noticed the Trump Administration’s immigration initiatives. Here, as elsewhere, California charts its own path. The state’s labor law enforcement officials worry that the immigration
Continue Reading LWDA Reaffirms That California Protects Undocumented Workers

Seyfarth Synopsis:  As if high rent and California’s peculiar laws were not enough to worry about, San Francisco employers must also comply with City-specific ordinances. Trailblazing City requirements often exceed state laws and have sometimes been harbingers of state-level enactments. One might say that San Francisco, with its distinctive laws, is to California what California is to the rest of
Continue Reading San Francisco-Peculiarities: The City’s Ultra-Unique Employment Landscape