Update: On December 2, 2024, California updated its Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions, which address the expanded reasons for use of California paid sick leave detailed below.
Seyfarth Synopsis: Out with the old and in with the new. Governor Newsom recently signed new laws which extend and clarify employees’ available reasons for use of California paid sick
Continue Reading New and Improved California Leave Provisions for 2025Seyfarth Synopsis: After a lengthy delay due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cal/OSHA has published its proposed indoor heat illness prevention standard. After the publication, there is a 45-day comment period, ending at the Standards Board May 18, 2023 meeting. The Standards Board has one year from publication date to take action on the proposed standard
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Turns Up The Heat on EmployersSeyfarth Synopsis: As the mercury rises, California employers must comply with regulatory requirements to keep their employees cool. Employers should be aware of Cal/OSHA’s existing requirements for outdoor workplaces and proposed rules which could turn up the heat on indoor employers.
California Keeps It Cool
For many years, Cal/OSHA has distinguished itself from Federal OSHA by, among other things,
Continue Reading Cool For the Summer
Seyfarth Synopsis: As recent triple-digit temps have shown, California is still one of the hottest places to be—literally. Today’s post reminds all employers, especially with employees who work outdoors or in open-air environments, that OSHA, Cal-OSHA, and the California Labor Code all prescribe protections from the heat.
California rest and recovery breaks.
California employers must provide non-exempt employees with
Continue Reading California is Hot: Avoiding Workplace Heat Illness
By Geoffrey C. Westbrook and Joshua M. Henderson
Just when one might have thought California employment law couldn’t get any stickier for employers, in January 2014 the California Legislature turned up the heat by expanding meal and rest break penalty provisions. Now there’s a new penalty for failure to provide “cool-down,” or recovery, periods to prevent heat illness.
Before, heat illness prevention laws were enforced only by the limited resources of Cal-OSHA. Now, newly amended Labor Code Section 226.7 authorizes private enforcement through class, individual, and multi-plaintiff actions, as well as by the DLSE. Monetary incentives, in addition to ambiguities on many aspects of the law, will likely trigger increased Cal-OSHA enforcement and new litigation, just as the remedies for meal and rest break violations have produced a heat wave of class action litigation. Talk about a scorcher!
But What is a “Cool-down” Period? California employers with “outdoor places of employment” must implement a heat illness prevention program, including allowing and encouraging employees to take a “cool-down rest in the shade for a period of no less than five minutes at a time when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating.” During these periods, employees must get continuous access to shade and drinking water.
While these obligations existed for almost a decade under Cal-OSHA’s oversight, private enforcement officially began January 1, 2014 with the amendment to Labor Code Section 226.7. Now, “an employer shall not require an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period” required by law. As a penalty, employers must pay non-exempt employees one additional hour of pay for each workday in which a meal or rest or recovery period is not provided. Penalties are cumulative, meaning it is now theoretically possible under Section 226.7 for an employer to incur three penalties in a given workday for each affected employee.
So, What are “Outdoor Places of Employment?” This term, not defined in the regulations, may seem self-evident. “Outdoor” really means “out of doors” in an open air environment. But how much time must one spend out of doors to make it a “place” of employment? Reasonable minds could differ here: is 50% of a workday spent outdoors sufficient to trigger the law, or will a mere 25% suffice?
Recovery Periods: A “Hotbed” for Litigation? There are no published decisions yet on cool-down periods, and the law is rife with ambiguities that only litigation will resolve. These uncertainties, and the prospect of penalties that will be very large when considered on a cumulative basis, may prompt private litigants to initiate civil actions against unsuspecting employers in industries with some outdoor work that haven’t traditionally been the focus of enforcement initiatives. These industries may include engineering, warehousing, carwash, outdoor recreation, automotive sales, security, country clubs, valets, summer camps, and janitorial businesses.
The following are areas where employers may face “cooling down” challenges:
Continue Reading Avoid the Summer Heat! Sweat the Details of California’s “Cool-Down” Periods and Avoid the Burn of Wage and Hour Class Litigation