Prompted by telework arrangements that arose in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL) issued a Bulletin addressing important
Continue Reading DOL Issues Guidance on Wage-and-Hour Obligations as Pandemic Increases Telework
In August 2020, the California Court of Appeal issued two wins for California employers facing multiple simultaneous representative actions under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA)
Continue Reading Impersonators Beware: Claim Preclusion of Copycat PAGA Lawsuits
On August 17, 2020, the Eastern District of New York granted the Plaintiffs’ request for a stay and a preliminary injunction precluding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Continue Reading Department of Health and Human Services’ LGBTQ+ Discrimination Rule Blocked by Eastern District of New York
As employers continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic, they now face a new set of workforce challenges related to extreme weather and wildfires. Both are creating a challenging remote work environment due to: (1) recent evacuations; and (2) heat exposure risks linked to employees now forced to work in their homes with closed windows (and lack of proper air ventilation). Employers should consider preparing themselves for a further reduced workforce caused by such complications.
Continue Reading California Wildfires Increase Employer Concerns
On Friday, August 28, 2020, Governor Newsom unveiled the state’s new tiered system for identifying and reducing COVID-19 infection risks in each county. This new “blueprint” is aimed at reducing instances of COVID-19 by imposing revised criteria for both easing and tightening restrictions on the activities of California residents and businesses.
Under the new system, which goes into effect on Monday, August 31st and replaces the “County Monitoring List” approach, each county is assigned to one of four tiers – Minimal, Moderate, Substantial, or Widespread. These tiers are assigned based on the percentage of new daily cases and the percentages of positive tests.
Continue Reading California Revamps its Reopening Criteria for Businesses and Activities
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has challenged Uber and Lyft in two new state-backed lawsuits that allege that the companies have engaged in “wage theft” by misclassifying their drivers as
Continue Reading Collision: Collateral Effects of California’s Lawsuits Against Lyft and Uber
With remote work for adults and online distance learning for students here to stay, it is natural for parents with already demanding workloads to seek the help of others to
Continue Reading Was Mary Poppins an Employee Under California’s ABC Test?
Challenges to the reasonableness of pension plan actuarial assumptions are confronting corporate plan sponsors not only with regard to their own plans but also with respect to the calculation of
Continue Reading Multiemployer Plans Poised For More Assumption Rate Suits
Shortly after the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Final Rule implementing provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the state of New York filed suit
Continue Reading Federal Judge Grants NY’s Motion to Vacate FFCRA’s ‘Work Availability’ Requirement, Other Important Provisions of DOL’s ‘Final Rule’
California employers have frequently been faced with confusing standards for the application of California’s stringent wage statement requirements for employees that routinely travel between states as a function of their
Continue Reading High Court Articulates Test for Applicability of California Wage Statement Requirements to Interstate Workers