Department of Fair Employment and Housing

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?

Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing released 16 new FAQs regarding the recently enacted Pay Data Reporting Law, previously summarized here. The new FAQs address several key issues, including how to calculate the triggering 100-employee threshold and what the reporting requirements are for employees who work, live, or telecommute inside or outside of California.

Employers have
Continue Reading Asked and Answered: Updates on California’s Pay Data Reporting Law

Seyfarth Synopsis: September 30 was Governor Newsom’s last day to sign or veto bills the Legislature passed by its August 31 deadline. Some new laws—including COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave and workers’ compensation presumption—became effective immediately upon signing. Others—such as an expansion of CFRA and other leave rights, an EEO-1-like annual pay data report, and (believe it
Continue Reading Pen Down, Governor Newsom: California’s Newest Employment Laws

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
Continue Reading California Employment Legislative Update: Time for Governor Newsom to Get to Work

Seyfarth Synopsis: A new set of proposed regulations requires all janitorial employees and their supervisors to receive two hours of in-person, interactive sexual harassment training every two years.

The Property Service Workers Protection Act of 2016 requires employers with at least one janitorial worker (including front line cleaners) to provide biennial sexual violence and harassment prevention training to janitorial employees
Continue Reading Time to Clean Up Janitorial Training

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California state assembly is set to vote on Senate Bill 171, a state analogue to the federal EEO-1 report, which would require employers with 100 or more employees to submit annual pay data reports to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, and job category.

Pay Data Reporting at the
Continue Reading California To Protect Pay Equity Reporting Requirements From Federal Challenge?

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing issues a yearly report describing its complaint and litigation trends. Below is the Reader’s Digest™ version.

The DFEH recently issued its 2017 Annual Report covering its fifth year in active litigation. In 2013, the California Legislature authorized the DFEH to file lawsuits under the Fair Employment and Housing
Continue Reading DFEH Reports Age Discrimination And Retaliation Claims On the Rise

Seyfarth Synopsis: Dominating this spring’s planting of proposed employment-related legislation are bills aimed at ending sexual harassment and promoting gender equity. Among the secondary crops are bills regarding accommodation, leave, criminal history, and wage and hour law. It threatens to be another bitter fall harvest for California’s employer community.

California legislators stormed into the second half of the 2017-18 legislative
Continue Reading 2018 California Legislative Update: It’s Spring! What Bills Have Sprung?

Seyfarth Synopsis: The natural inclination is to ignore attempts to dredge up claims of harassment that happened long ago. But no harassment claim is too old to investigate. Having strong anti-harassment policies and investigation procedures, along with a good work culture, can help employers avoid getting caught in the cross-fire of the “me-too” harassment dialogue.

The #MeToo movement has enveloped
Continue Reading The Stale Harassment Complaint: Coal In Your Stocking?

Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has just issued its Annual Report on civil rights complaints during 2016. Here are some highlights.

The DFEH hails as the largest state civil rights agency in the country, with 220 full-time employees operating out of five offices throughout California. Its annual report makes clear that its core work is litigation.
Continue Reading Hot Off The Press! DFEH’s Annual Report