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Publications
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01.22.2024Valentine’s Day Marks Compliance Deadline for California Noncompete Notification RequirementUpdatesAB 1076 went into effect on January 1, 2024, and codifies existing case law by making it expressly unlawful for employers to utilize any noncompete agreement with employees that does not satisfy an exception to Section 16600.
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01.18.2024Update: 2023 California Labor, Employment, and Independent Contractor Legislative UpdatePodcastsWith the 2023 California legislative year closed, we are ready to summarize the new legislation that will affect businesses operating in the state and highlight related action items.
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10.20.20232023 California Labor, Employment, and Independent Contractor Legislative UpdateUpdatesWith the 2023 California legislative year closed, it is once again time to summarize the new legislation that will affect businesses operating within the state and highlight relevant action items related to these bills.
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09.18.2023New California State Law Addresses Noncompete AgreementsUpdatesAbsent specific exceptions, under California Business and Professions Code section 16600, California generally prohibits employers from entering into contracts with employees that preclude those employees from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind.
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07.20.2023California Supreme Court Limits Utility of Arbitration Agreements for PAGA ClaimsUpdatesIn June 2022, in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S. Ct. 1906 (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the rule that precludes the use of an agreement to divide PAGA claims into individual and representative claims.
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03.28.2023NLRB General Counsel Issues Guidance Regarding NLRB’s Ruling on Employee Severance AgreementsUpdatesThe National Labor Relations Board recently ruled in McLaren Macomb that employee severance agreements with overly broad confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions violate the National Labor Relations Act. Recently, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo issued a memorandum to all regional directors, officers-in-charge, and resident officers to “assist Regions in responding to inquiries from workers, employers, labor organizations, and the public about implications stemming from the case.”
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02.24.2023Time To Update Arbitration Agreements—Mandatory Arbitration Is Again Permissible in CaliforniaUpdates
California employers with employees and job applicants subject to the Federal Arbitration Act can once again require such individuals to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
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10.24.20222022 California Labor, Employment, and Independent Contractor Legislative UpdateUpdatesWith the 2022 California legislative year closed, it is once again time to examine the new legislation that will affect entities operating within the state. This Update provides summaries of key legislation as well as action items to consider.
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10.14.2022US Department of Labor Proposes Independent Contractor RuleUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on October 13, 2022, that proposes guidance on determining employee or independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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05.26.2022CA Court Confirms Employers Must Timely Pay and Report Meal Period Premiums or Face Additional PenaltiesUpdatesThe California Supreme Court, on May 23, 2022, issued a seminal opinion in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., which found that employees can recover penalties for failure to timely pay wages at termination and failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements based on untimely paid or unreported meal and rest period premiums.
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03.08.2022New Law Ends Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment DisputesUpdatesPresident Biden signed H.R. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, into law on March 3, 2022.
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2021Frequently Asked Employment Questions Regarding COVID-19Lawyer Publications
View Perkins Coie’s archived frequently asked employment questions regarding COVID-19. These FAQs have not been updated to address OSHA’s emergency temporary standards regarding COVID-19 vaccination mandates announced on November 4, 2021.
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11.23.2020DOL Issues Guidance Regarding Travel Time Compensability for Nonexempt Foremen and LaborersUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an opinion letter, FLSA 2020-16, considering whether the travel time of foremen and laborers is compensable in three different scenarios.
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10.09.20202020 California Labor & Employment Legislative RoundupUpdatesCalifornia’s legislative session closed with the state Assembly and Senate signing nearly 40 bills related to employment.
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09.14.2020California’s Independent Contractor/Employee Determination: New Legislative Changes to the ABC TestUpdatesThe “ABC test” now used in California to make determinations regarding the validity of independent contractor classifications initially was adopted by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018), described here.
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09.14.2020NY Court Strikes Down Significant Portions of DOL’s Final Rule Defining Joint Employment Scenarios Under FLSAUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL”) Final Rule revising the joint employer regulations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect on March 16, 2020, (the Final Rule).
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07.27.2020DOL Revises Optional-Use FMLA FormsUpdatesIn June 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) revised the optional-use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms available for employers to provide required notice to employees and for employees to provide certification of their need for FMLA leave.
Presentations
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03.03.2020Using Arbitration Agreements and Contractors in CaliforniaWebinarsJoin Perkins Coie’s California Labor & Employment attorneys for a webinar that will provide insight into the new laws governing arbitration agreements and contractors in California effective January 1, 2020.
Wage & Hour Developments
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California Supreme Court Permits Good Faith Belief Defense on Wage Statement Violations
As most employers are aware, California law requires employers to furnish employees with accurate and itemized wage statements that contain numerous required components. This requirement is enumerated in Labor Code section 226. Further, under the Labor Code, an employee who suffers injury due to an employer’s “knowing and intentional failure” to comply with wage statement...
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The California Supreme Court Clarifies Compensable Time
The California Supreme Court recently issued a decision in Huerta v. CSI Electrical Contractors addressing three questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding Wage Order No. 16 (which applies to certain on-site occupations in the construction, drilling, logging, and mining industries) and the scope of the term “hours worked.”...
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California Launches $18 Million Program Intended for Wage Theft Investigation
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Labor Commissioner’s Office launched a program creating opportunities for local prosecutors to obtain funding for wage theft prosecutions. The program, called the Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant, will provide eligible prosecutors with two annual grant awards of $8,550,000 each, for a total of $18 million. The first...
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California Governor Revives Industrial Welfare Commission
The California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) was established to regulate wages, hours, and working conditions in California. Importantly, the IWC adopted “wage orders,” which establish specific rules for various industries. California has not funded the IWC since 2004, and it has not been in operation. This is likely to change. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed...
