The District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning non-compete agreements, which was set to take effect on September 4, 2024. In a decision authored by Judge Ada Brown, the Court held that the ban exceeded the scope of the FTC’s powers and was arbitrary and capricious due to its overbreadth and lack of justification. This development clears up prior confusion stemming from previous rulings that only prevented enforcement of the ban against specific parties, and it eliminates the federal non-compete ban for all employers in the United States. Although the decision is appealable, it is unlikely that the FTC will pursue this course of action, as any appeal would be heard by the Fifth Circuit, and potentially by the Supreme Court of the United States, both of which are expected to be hostile to the ban. Employers should return to their prior practices related to non-compete agreements, keeping in mind that state laws remain unaffected by the Northern District of Texas’s decision, so they are still subject to those laws where applicable.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) has struck down the Department of Labor’s “80/20/30 Rule,” which had set guidelines for how tipped employees are compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). To quickly put this in perspective, the Rule applied in states that allowed a tip credit. In those states, the Rule mandated that employers pay the full minimum wage (and not take a tip credit) for non-tipped duties that either lasted over 30 continuous minutes or exceeded 20% of the workweek. The Court determined that the Rule conflicted with the FLSA’s language and faulted it for improperly dividing tasks within a single occupation. Citing the recent Loper Bright case, the Court concluded that tipped employees only lose their status for tip credit eligibility when they take on completely unrelated jobs, not based on the time spent on non-tipped duties within their primary role. This ruling eliminates the 80/20/30 Rule in the Fifth Circuit and could apply nationwide. However, the application of the Rule in states outside of the Fifth Circuit could still be litigated in those states, and the question of the Rule’s nationwide applicability will remain in limbo until a higher court issues a decision or new guidance is issued by the DOL. Currently, the DOL is challenging the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, but if Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election, this challenge would likely be dropped and new guidance may be issued. Importantly, states that do not allow a tip credit are unaffected by this ruling.

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Significant amendments to California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) were enacted into law recently. This legislation, the result of negotiations among Gov. Newsom, legislators, and labor and business groups, equips employers with new and robust tools to address and defend against PAGA claims. Consequently, the initiative to repeal and replace PAGA, which was slated for the November ballot in California, has been withdrawn. The key provisions of the reform legislation are summarized below.

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On June 18, 2024, California’s Governor Newsom announced that an agreement has been reached with business groups to reform the current Private Attorneys’ General Act (“PAGA”).

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After months of stress due to ambiguities in California’s “Hidden Fees Statute,” colloquially known as the “Junk Fee Ban,” it seems the collective outcry from the hospitality industry has finally been heard. Yesterday, Senator Bill Dodd introduced an emergency amendment to the law that would allow for mandatory charges on food and beverage items sold by a restaurant, bar, or pursuant to a banquet or catering contract. The proposed amendment would add the following language to the Hidden Fees Statute:

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Wednesday saw the release of CA Attorney General Bob Bonta’s long-awaited FAQs on the California “junk fee” ban, now rebranded as the “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute.” The FAQs largely reiterate the very straightforward requirements of the new law, while confirming its most strict application under certain circumstances that, until now, many in the hospitality industry had trouble believing. In light of the climate of wishful thinking surrounding this new law, it is necessary to plainly state that service charges added at the end of a transaction will be illegal beginning on July 1, 2024, and there are scarce “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts” about it. To be clear, this ban covers nearly every form of fee or charge that is added after the initiation of a transaction, including, but not limited to, health mandate fees, employee wellness fees, employee living wage fees, spa service charges, resort fees, large-party auto gratuities, and surcharges.

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On November 5, 2024, California voters will have the opportunity to repeal and replace the California Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”). The bill would double down on penalties for willful labor-law violators but entrust enforcement exclusively to a state agency. This would require all monetary penalties be awarded to employees, while barring attorneys from recovering any fees, unless specified by the labor code. The law would also supply resources to employers to ensure compliance.

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Effective March 20, employees in New York City can bring private actions against their employers for violations of the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, NYC Admin. Code § 20-911 et seq. The ordinance, which like many others around the country, requires employers to provide paid or unpaid safe and sick leave to their employees (depending on company size), had previously been enforceable only by complaint to the City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The remedies that an employee can seek in a private suit are largely the same as those that could have been pursued by the Department, and include treble damages for unlawful withholding of wages, penalties of $500 for each instance of unlawfully requiring an employee to find a replacement worker or work extra hours to make up leave time, and similar amounts – but private plaintiffs can also seek attorneys’ fees and costs.

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On September 14, 2023, New York’s Governor, Kathy Hochul, signed Assembly Bill 836 (“A836”) into law which prohibits employers from requesting or requiring access to personal accounts such as texts, emails, and mobile applications like WhatsApp from electronic devices. A836, which went into effect on March 12, 2024, also prohibits employers from discharging, disciplining, or failing to hire individuals who refuse to provide access to personal accounts and is subject to only a few exceptions.

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California’s electronic portal for mandatory pay data reporting opened on February 1st, giving employers three months to complete reporting. Employers with at least 100 employees should start, if they have not already, preparing a plan for submitting pay data to the state Civil Rights Department (“CRD”). Pay data reports for calendar year 2023 are due by May 8, 2024.

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Although the COVID-19 pandemic might feel like a thing of the past, California’s Right to Recall continues in place. In October 2023, Governor Newsom signed bill SB 723, which amended California’s Right to Recall law and extended its effect through the end of 2025.

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California is not spreading the love to employers this Valentine’s Day. Employers’ deadline to give their California employees a notice that any non-compete agreements are void was February 14, 2024. Employers who fail to give the notice could face $2,500 per violation plus sanctions.

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The California Supreme Court recently issued a long-awaited opinion resolving a split in the Court of Appeal over whether trial courts may dismiss unmanageable PAGA actions. In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., filed January 18, 2024, the California Supreme Court considered whether trial courts possess inherent authority to strike/dismiss Labor Code section 2698 Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claims on manageability grounds. California appellate courts have reached conflicting results on the issue (see Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc. (2022) 76 Cal.App.5th 685, 697 (finding no inherent authority) Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 746, 766–767 (recognizing such authority) ; Woodworth v. Loma Linda University Medical Center (2023) 93 Cal.App.5th 1038, 1047, review granted Nov. 1, 2023, S281717 (Woodworth) (agreeing with Estrada that trial courts lack authority to dismiss PAGA claim for lack of manageability) ). In Hamilton v. Wal- Mart Stores, Inc. (9th Cir. 2022) 39 F.4th 575, 587, the Ninth Circuit resolved a similar split among federal district courts applying California law by rejecting the imposition of a manageability requirement.

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The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently released a final rule that addresses the classification of workers as independent contractors under federal labor law. The rule goes into effect on March 11, 2024.

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Amendments to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (“EPEWA”) will go into effect on January 1, 2024. The EPEWA, which went into effect in January of 2021, prohibits Colorado employers who might discriminate against employees based on sex by paying less for substantially similar work, i.e., skill, effort, or responsibility. To that end, the EPEWA, which since its inception has required external or internal job postings to include salary or wage range, compensation and benefits, and the application deadline for job opportunities and promotions, will now add additional burdens on Colorado employers. Namely (1) requiring internal notifications regarding all job opportunities, not only promotions, and (2) mandating certain notifications after an applicant has been selected for an opportunity. Colorado employers were already grappling with how to comply with the EPEWA’s requirements, and these new rules may have made it harder.

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Effective December 31, 2023, the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance will replace the existing Paid Sick Leave ordinance. Under the new ordinance, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave plus one hour of general paid leave for every 35 hours worked, with a cap of 40 hours for each type of leave annually. Employees can carry over up to 16 hours of general paid leave and 80 hours of sick leave to the next year. Alternatively, employers have the option to front-load both types of leave at the start of each benefit year, which exempts them from the rollover requirement for general paid leave, but not for sick leave. New employees can use paid sick leave after 30 days and paid leave after 90 days of employment, and may opt to use this leave before any other provided by the employer unless mandated otherwise by law.

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has implemented a final rule effective December 26, 2023, which broadens the criteria for determining “joint employer” status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This rule reinstates the broader Obama-era interpretation of joint employer by emphasizing the importance of an employer’s potential control over the essential terms of employment, regardless of whether this control is actually exercised.

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In a recent case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees may be able to support a hostile work environment claim by presenting evidence of regular exposure to violent, misogynistic music, even when the music’s message is not directed to a particular individual, but is broadly offensive to both men and women.

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Beginning in March of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) allowed employers to complete the I-9 process remotely on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 4, 2023, ICE announced that these Covid-19 “flexibilities,” would end on July 31, 2023, and that employers would have until August 30, 2023 to conduct an in-person physical inspection for all employees remotely verified and hired during Covid-19.

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On September 30, 2023, Florida will increase its minimum wage to $12.00. The increase in wage is a part of a yearly dollar increase that Florida instituted in 2020 following a voter-approved ballot measure. Florida’s minimum wage is set to increase to $15.00 by 2026. Because Florida’s tipped wage is $3.02, the increased minimum wage will increase the required cash wage for tipped employees to $8.98 in 2023 and presumably, $11.98 by 2026. All Florida employers are required to post the current minimum wage in their place of business where an employee can see it.

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On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) released its long awaited Cemex Construction Materials Pacific (“Cemex”) decision. See NLRB Case No. 28-CA-230115. The crux of the Cemex case revolved around how to hold election procedures when an employer has allegedly committed unfair labor practices during the “critical period” of an election campaign between the filing of the election petition and the election itself. The NLRB responded to that question by instituting a framework that hearkens back to the Joy Silk standard used over 50 years ago, which required employers to bargain with a union unless it had a good-faith doubt of the union’s majority support among employees.

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On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court overturned a decades-old precedent that held race-based affirmative action policies in higher education institutions were constitutional. However, in Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. Harvard, the Court deviated from precedent and held colleges/universities can no longer use race as a factor in their college admissions. Although this ruling may not directly impact employment law, it inevitably will affect employers, via interpretations applicable to employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

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On August 2, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023), announcing yet another test for determining whether employer policies that are facially neutral might nevertheless be deemed violative of employee rights to organize and act in concert with other employees. This issue has been a point of contention for decades, and legal tests have come and gone as newly-constituted Boards under different Presidential administrations have swung the needle back and forth in favor of employees or employers. This most recent opinion moves back towards the protection of employee rights, but includes the possibility of an affirmative defense for employers.

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The U.S Supreme Court issued an opinion in Groff v. DeJoy redefining an employer’s obligations for religious accommodations under Title VII. The Court strayed away from the almost five-decade standard previously used and redefined “undue hardship” stating that it requires employers, when denying a religious accommodation, to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.” The Court effectively disavowed the long-standing “de minimis” standard placing a higher burden on employers when determining whether a religious accommodation can be denied for an undue hardship. The Court held that courts must apply this new standard and take into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including particular accommodation at issue, and the practical impact in light of the nature, size, and operating cost to the employer. The Court remanded the case back to the lower court to apply the new redefined standard.

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Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an employer-friendly decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana. There, it held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) such that employees who signed arbitration agreements could not avoid arbitration of their individual PAGA claims and, once their own dispute was “pared away from a PAGA action,” they lacked statutory standing to maintain their non-individual claims in court. While many employers hoped Viking River would end PAGA claims altogether, the Supreme Court left the door open for a contrary ruling from California courts, as Justice Sotomayor’s concurring opinion in Viking River foretold: “Of course, if this Court’s understanding of state law is wrong, California courts, in an appropriate case, will have the last word.” (Viking River, 142 S.Ct. at 1925 (conc. opn. of Sotomayor, J.))

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The City of Los Angeles will increase the minimum wage rate by $.74 as of July 1, 2023. The new City minimum wage will be $16.78. This new wage must be posted at the workplace in English and any other language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce. The City’s notice to all employers can be found here.

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As of February 20, 2023, San Francisco employers with 100+ employees are required to pay differential (or “supplemental”) pay to employees who are called to active military. This is the new requirement under San Francisco’s latest Ordinance, known as the Military Leave Pay Protection Act (“MLPPA”). The MLPPA essentially requires employers to supplement an employee’s military pay and keep employees whole while they are on military leave.

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Avid readers of Stokes Wagner’s legal updates may be familiar with California’s Assembly Bill 51, a law that, until very recently, prohibited California employers from requiring employees or job applicants to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment or employment-related benefits. On Wednesday, a panel of judges of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 2 to 1 decision that AB 51 is unenforceable, as it is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. California employers are once again free to require their employees to sign arbitration agreements.

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Illinois Governor is expected to sign the “Paid Leave for All Workers Act” (SB-208), a statewide law that requires most Illinois employers to provide employees with 40 hours of paid leave per year that an employee may use for any reason. Once the Bill is signed, the law will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

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The SECURE 2.0 Act was signed into law on December 29, 2022, and contains several provisions that dictate how employers must offer and administer retirement plans. While Secure 2.0’s provisions are expansive and have different effective dates ranging into 2025, there are some major changes that are worth considering:

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On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) into law.

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Over the past several years a growing number of cities, counties and states have enacted some form of pay transparency laws covering a wide range of issues. Most of these laws aim to prevent pay discrimination and provide employees with the ability to freely discuss their salaries. More states are passing or amending existing laws to require *salary disclosure *as part of their pay transparency laws. A brief summary of these laws is included below.

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The Federal Trade Commission issued a proposed rule on January 5, 2023, that would ban the use of so-called “non-compete” agreements, which are often used in certain industries to protect intellectual property and the companies’ investment in training their employees. According to the FTC, approximately 30 million employees are bound by such agreements, and because they decrease competition for workers, they lower wages across the board. “Non-compete clauses also prevent new businesses from forming, stifling entrepreneurship, and prevent novel innovation which would otherwise occur when workers are able to broadly share their ideas.” The FTC estimates that its proposed rule would increase American workers’ earnings “between $250 billion and $296 billion per year.”

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Passed in 2018, the District of Columbia’s Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act’s (TWWFA) mandatory sexual harassment training provisions are now in effect. Employers with workers for whom an employer takes a tip credit must take several steps related to sexual harassment policies and training. Employers must ensure that they:

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On October 24, 2022, the Sixth District issued a decision in in Camp v. Home Depot, handing employees a major win in the wage and hour arena by holding that Home Depot’s practice of rounding hourly employees’ total daily worktime to the nearest quarter hour, rather than using the actual worktime recorded by Home Depot’s timekeeping system “Kronos.” The Court found the rounding resulted in the failure to pay employees for all time worked. Plaintiffs Camp and Correa filed a putative class action for unpaid wages and unfair competition, and Home Depot moved for summary judgment on the basis that the rounding policy was neutral on its face, neutral as applied, and lawful under See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court *(2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 889 (See’s). For the past ten years, *See’s has been cited in support of the rule that rounding is permissible if it “is neutral on its face and is used in such a manner that it will not result, over a period of time, in failure to compensate employees properly for all the time they have actually worked.” Granting summary judgment, the trial court reasoned that it could not disregard the binding appellate authority of See’s.

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The Department of Labor recently issued a new proposed rule distinguishing between employees, who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, and independent contractors, who are not. This follows on the heels of a rule issued by the previous administration on the same topic, which has now been repealed. The previous rule elevated two factors (control and opportunity for profit or loss) as “core” factors above other factors in determining workers’ economic dependence on their employer, and slightly favored a finding of independent contractor status. The current proposed rule returns to a balanced review of factors, and is more geared to finding employee status, as the DOL expressly wants to ensure that workers are not deprived of their rights under the FLSA.

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1. Pay Transparency Law [SB 1162]

Starting on January 1, 2023, employers are required to do the following:

• Include the pay scale for a position in any job posting, whether the posting is internal or external (only for employers with 15+ employees).

• Upon an employee’s request, provide the pay scale for the position in which the employee is currently employed.

• Maintain records of each employee’s job title and wage rate history for the duration of an employee’s employment and three years after the end of the employment. These records shall be open to inspection by the Labor Commissioner.

• Provide pay scale data to any third-party who announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting to applicants.

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California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employment discrimination based on certain protected classes and empowers the Civil Rights Department to investigate and prosecute complaints alleging unlawful practices. On September 18, 2022, Governor Gavin Newson signed AB 2188, which, upon its effective date of January 1, 2024, essentially adds a new category of protected persons – cannabis users.

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The subject of transgender Americans has been raised a lot recently, sometimes in political contexts, but regardless of the politics, it is important for employers to understand their obligations with respect to transgender employees and job applicants. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court held that discrimination against gay or transgender employees “simply for being homosexual or transgender” was clearly a violation of Title VII. Some localities, including New York City, have passed legislation mandating the use of employees’ chosen pronouns, and the EEOC notes that failure to do so can contribute to a hostile environment under Title VII. And the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided that gender dysphoria, “discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and that person’s sex assigned at birth,” which often accompanies transgender status, can be a “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Most California employers understand that they are required to provide suitable seating to employees when the nature of their work reasonably permits the use of seats. However, a California Court only recently opined on specifically what it means to “provide” suitable seating. In July of 2022, in Meda v. AutoZone, an Appellate Court ruled that employers may need to do more than simply have seats available in the workplace.

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There are two Georgia employment laws effective this summer that employers should be aware of in reviewing their policies.

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In December of 2020, the D.C. City Council passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, which would have added D.C. to a growing list of states and localities that either completely ban or severely limit the enforcement of non-compete agreements by completely banning non-compete agreements within the District. However, after numerous delays and challenges from the public, the Council followed up with the Non-Compete Clarification Amendment Act of 2022 on July 12, 2022.

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Almost every business uses remote workers these days. But the potential pitfalls of remote work include potential legal liability if care isn’t taken to ensure legal compliance.

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With its implementation of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act in June, the City of Austin joins twelve states who have passed legislation amending the definition of the word “race” to include protections against hair discrimination. As a result, the City Code’s definition of “unlawful employment practice” will include “protective hairstyles,” which means a hairstyle necessitated by, or resulting from, the characteristics of a hair texture or hairstyle commonly associated with race, national origin, ethnicity, or culture, and includes, but is not limited to:

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Earlier today, the Los Angeles City Council voted to skip the November ballot process and instead formally approve the City of Los Angeles Hotel Workers Ordinance (also known as the “Workplace Security, Workload, Wage and Retention Measures for Hotel Workers Initiative Ordinance”).

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Pennsylvania employers must take note of major changes to Pennsylvania’s regulations regarding tipped employees that will take effect on August 5, 2022. Many of these changes differ from federal law, but must be followed, because the federal Fair Labor Standards Act states that any state law more favorable to employees than the FLSA will take precedence. Key changes are as follows:

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On May 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the much-anticipated and employer-favorable ruling in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, holding, in an 8-1 decision, that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The Court’s decision means employees who signed arbitration agreements may not avoid arbitration of their individual PAGA claims. Further, once an employee’s PAGA claim is in arbitration, they have no standing to bring PAGA claims on behalf of other employees in court.

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New York will likely become the latest state to enact a “pay transparency” law, which, if passed as written, would require New York employers with four or more employees to include wage scales or salary ranges on any job postings for positions within the state. The bill, Senate Bill S9427, passed the New York State Legislature on June 3, 2022, and now awaits the approval of Governor Kathy Hochul. Senate Bill S9427 follows the passage of a similar New York City law that is set to take effect on November 1, 2022.

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Beginning on July 12, any employer with 20 or more employees who has workers either working in or teleworking out of San Francisco will need to comply with the amended version of the Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance (“FFWO”), which may be found here.

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On May 23, 2022, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified that a violation of Labor Code section 226.7 (payment of premium wages for meal and rest period violations) gives rise to claims under Labor Code sections 203 (waiting time penalties) and 226 (inaccurate wage statements).

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The “Hotel Workers Initiative Ordinance” – a proposed hotel workers’ protections ordinance backed by UNITE HERE Local 11 – would require hotels in the City of Los Angeles to give additional protections and benefits to hotel workers. Earlier this month, dozens of hotel workers delivered the requisite petition of signatures to the Los Angeles City Clerk to qualify the Ordinance for presentation to the City Council. Now the City Council will decide whether to put the Ordinance on the voter ballot in November or outright adopt the law.

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For the third time, California has re-adopted and revised its COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”), mirroring current State and local regulations easing pandemic-related restrictions. While the ETS still require employers to establish and train employees on written prevention programs, Cal-OSHA has now removed several protocols including indoor masking, cleaning and disinfection, and vaccination status distinctions.

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Historically, employers have used noncompete agreements to prevent competition or dissemination of confidential information when an employee leaves a company. However, the last few years has seen the erosion of their enforceability across the country. Frequent readers of our legal updates will recall that on July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission “to curtail the unfair use of noncompete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility.” (See our legal update here.) State legislators and courts have begun restricting the noncompete before the federal government has had time to act.

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California law currently defines the “workweek,” by operation of its overtime rules, as 40 hours per week. Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2932 as proposed to the California Legislature, would cut the standard “workweek” to 32 hours per week for non-exempt employees of employers with more than 500 employees. As written, the bill provides for overtime pay for work performed beyond 32 hours in a week.

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Picture the following scenario: An employee engages in misconduct at work that results in suspension pending investigation and would normally probably end in termination. But at the time of the suspension, the employee requests and is granted a medical leave. The termination is not finalized while the employee is on leave, and while on leave, the employee claims that the misconduct was caused by a mental illness and requests reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act – in short, they ask for a second chance.

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In March, Florida’s legislature approved the “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act.” The bill restricts how workplaces and classrooms around the state handle discussions surrounding race, gender and discrimination. The law, expected to take effect on July 1, 2022, will also prevent companies with 15 or more employees from subjecting “any individual, as a condition of employment … to training, instruction or any other required activity that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates or compels such individual to believe” certain concepts related to diversity, equity and inclusion (“DE&I”).

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In February 2022, California’s legislature introduced two family-focused bills that, if passed, would (1) require employers to provide bereavement leave to all employees upon the death of a family member (AB-1949) and (2) add “family responsibilities” as a protected class under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (AB-2182).

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On March 16, 2022, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed three bills into law amending and expanding harassment and discrimination protections under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). New York State employers should remain on high alert for additional expansions to come and be ready to review and consult their anti-discrimination and harassment policies and practices to comply with the new protections as they become effective.

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Employers who use biometric technology in the workplace should be aware of the developing trend towards legislation targeting the misuse of biometric information. Biometric technology, which is used to identify individuals by the measurement and analysis of their unique physical characteristics, including fingerprints and facial features, can be used for a variety of activities ranging from timekeeping to controlling and monitoring access to information and worksites. However, the increasing legislation around the collection and use of this information is creating a legal minefield for unwary employers.

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A Federal Appeals Court recently ruled that marketers who hand out samples and promote products qualify as outside salespeople under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and are thus exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA.

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On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the “Act”). Once signed into law, arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers are unenforceable with respect to most sexual assault or harassment employment claims.

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A recent EEOC case involving an executive who was fired after having an episode of depression underlines the importance of accommodating mental disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

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California recently announced that it will lift its mask mandate for vaccinated residents in indoor public places starting on February 15, 2022. This means that California no longer requires employers to mandate face coverings for vaccinated employees while indoors. And all employees, regardless of their vaccination status, are no longer required to wear a face covering while outdoors unless there is an outbreak in the workplace.

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The California Supreme Court set a new, more employee-friendly, evidentiary standard for whistleblower retaliation claims. In Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., the Court held Labor Code section 1102.6, not the McDonnell Douglas test, provides the appropriate framework for evaluating whistleblower retaliation claims brought under Labor Code section 1102.5. Because of this, employers will have to meet a higher burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that they did not retaliate based on the employee’s alleged whistleblower activities.

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Governor Newsom recently announced that California will enact another COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave program, which essentially revives the 2021 supplemental paid sick leave program that expired last year on September 30th. We are still waiting on the official Order with details on the 2022 Program, but here is what we know thus far:

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In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court voted to stay the vaccine-or-test regulation, ruling that the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies exceeded their authority. Separately, the Court ruled that a more limited vaccine mandate could stand for workers employed by government-funded healthcare facilities.

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Following the legal challenges facing OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard mandating vaccinations, Florida passed legislation banning private employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines unless several exemptions are offered to employees. The law, signed during a special legislative session on November 18, 2019, does not explicitly prohibit private employers from mandating vaccination, but rather imposes restrictive requirements on any private business that chooses to implement such a policy.

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Based on recent guidance from the Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations, covered employers with unionized workers must engage their employees’ unions when developing their vaccination and/or testing policies to comply with OSHA’s new ETS rule (“ETS”). The Board has emphasized employer’s duty to bargain concerning changes in terms and conditions of employment where employers are allowed discretion in implementation. Since ETS gives covered employers discretion with regards to implementing certain of its requirements, employer’s must bargain with their employees’ unions.

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Federal OSHA recently published its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring certain private employers to adopt mandatory vaccination and/or COVID testing policies. Considering the ETS and other local/state vaccine mandates, we expect the number of employees submitting requests for religious accommodations to workplace vaccine mandates to only increase.

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OSHA has released its “Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS) in response to President Biden’s employer vaccination mandate on November 4, 2021. The details of the new ETS may be found here. OSHA has also issued a Fact Sheet and a Summary of the ETS.

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The parties in the case of Daneshgari v. Patriot Towing Services, LLC, No. A21A0887 (Ga.App. Oct. 21, 2021), had entered into a four-year non-compete agreement in June of 2016 that Daneshgari and his partner began to violate within a month after signing the agreement. After PTS sued to enforce the agreement in 2018, a trial court in Georgia granted PTS’s motion for a preliminary injunction and ordered the defendants to cease violating the noncompete provision. The defendants ignored the court’s injunction and continued to operate their competing business. The trial court found Daneshgari in willful civil contempt of the preliminary injunction and ordered him to be incarcerated until he paid PTS $20,000 in attorney fees. Less than one week later, Daneshgari paid the $20,000 and was released from incarceration.

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Effective January 1, 2022, a new law exempts certain unionized janitorial employees from suing under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). On September 27, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 646 into law which specifies that unionized janitorial workers covered by a valid CBA will no longer be allowed to bring civil actions under PAGA.

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As a result of the #MeToo Movement, California Senators and Assembly Members introduced numerous bills on sexual harassment prevention. One of the laws that passed included SB 820, the “Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure” (STAND) Act. The STAND Act prohibited preventing the disclosure of factual information relating to claims of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or harassment or discrimination based on sex, filed in a civil or administrative action. Such provisions, if included in settlement agreements, are void as a matter of law and against public policy.

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Today the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for patrons to enter indoor public spaces in the city. The ordinance will require patrons to be vaccinated to enter certain establishments such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gyms, sports arenas, spas, salons, shopping malls, and others. The ordinance will also apply to large outdoor events.

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At the September 15 meeting, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a new policy that will affect hospitality businesses operating on Los Angeles County property. Policy 5.290 was recommended to the Board in a letter from the office of the County’s Chief Executive Officer. The Policy affects how labor disputes are handled at “hospitality operations” on County-owned or operated properties. “Hospitality operators” is defined in the Policy to include hotels, restaurants, and hospitality/food concessionaires. The Policy will apply regardless of whether or not the entity conducting such operations has leased directly with the County or with the County’s “lessee, licensee, or concessionaire.” It also applies to subleases, sublicenses, assignments, and transfers.

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Los Angeles County will require proof of vaccination for customers and employees at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs, and lounges. Under the order, customers and employees at indoor nightlife establishments will need to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by October 7 and receive the second dose by November 4, 2021. The order will strongly recommend (but fall short of requiring) vaccine verification for indoor restaurants.

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On September 15, 2021, the Ninth Circuit lifted an injunction and mostly upheld a California law, known as Assembly Bill 51 (“AB-51”), that prohibits mandatory arbitration agreements. AB-51 invalidates mandatory arbitration agreements that are a condition of employment, including mandatory agreements that allow an employee to “opt-out” of the arbitration provisions.

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Employers may legally require their employees be vaccinated. Consistent with California’s FEHA, all employers with five or more employees have an affirmative duty to make a reasonable accommodation for any employee with a disability or sincerely-held religious belief. Employers must engage in a good faith, interactive process with employees in these situations. One such accommodation may be to require routine COVID-19 testing in lieu of vaccination.

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Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced new vaccine requirements for federal and private sector workers in an effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the ongoing spread of the delta variant.

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Earlier this month, the City of San Francisco revised its “Safer Return Together” Health Order to require restaurants (indoor dining), bars, clubs, gyms, and large indoor events to obtain proof of vaccination from patrons and employees.

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Florida Governor Rick DeSantis has issued a statement that the State of Florida will appeal a recent preliminary injunction granted by US District Judge Kathleen Williams blocking the State from enforcing a recent law banning “vaccine passports” against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

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On August 11, 2021, the Los Angeles City Council voted to instruct City Attorney Mike Feuer to draft an ordinance that requires customers to show proof of receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to entering indoor public spaces. The ordinance would apply to restaurants, bars, retail stores, fitness centers, spas and entertainment facilities such as stadiums, concert venues and movie theatres.

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As California and the U.S. enjoy a surge in the travel industry again, the newly codified Labor Code section 2810.8 sets forth the obligations of California employers with regard to the recall of laid-off employees in many hospitality positions. The new law took effect on April 16, 2021 and expires on December 31, 2024.

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Amid trends of increased community transmission of COVID-19, at least 17 counties across California are now recommending residents wear face-coverings in indoor public spaces. However, only Los Angeles County has mandated the use of face-coverings indoors for everyone. Similarly, the City of Pasadena announced via Twitter that the Pasadena Public Health Department will be issuing an order requiring face masks indoors regardless of vaccination status in public settings and businesses. Details of the Pasadena order are expected to be published later this week.

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On July 15, 2021, The Supreme Court of California published its opinion on Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC and reversed the appellate court’s decision.

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On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued his Executive Order directing federal agencies to implement seventy-two different initiatives intended to promote competition across the American economy. Ideally, these initiatives will spur economic growth and recovery. Critical for employers, President Biden’s “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy” seeks to ban or limit the ability of employers to use non-compete agreements in order to make it easier to change jobs and raise wages. Although the executive order does not render non-compete provisions illegal, employers should take particular caution in deciding whether a non-compete provision is necessary to protect their business interests moving forward.

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Unionized employers in Illinois may have a useful defense to expensive employee BIPA lawsuits: the management rights clause and federal preemption law. A grievance might be a lot cheaper than a lawsuit.

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On June 17, 2021, the Cal-OSHA Board voted 5-1 to adopt its proposed revisions to its Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), which much more closely align with the CDC guidance. That same day, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order enabling these rules to go into effect immediately. The revised ETS, among other things, allows fully vaccinated workers to discontinue mask usage and social distancing.

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Anyone who has considered filing a petition for writ of mandate from a superior court ruling knows the odds are not in favor of the court granting this extraordinary relief. Apart from clear error, the requirement of showing irreparable harm is a hurdle that derails even the strongest advocates, but some cases present such important questions of law, they warrant a writ. General Atomics v. Superior Court, filed May 28, 2021, was one such case.

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On May 18, 2021, Santa Clara County’s Health Officer passed a public health order requiring businesses to track the vaccination status of their employees, contractors, or volunteers by June 1, 2021. Businesses must now take steps to determine whether each of their employees is fully vaccinated or not, regardless of whether they are working remotely or on-site. They must also maintain records for each staff member reflecting that person’s vaccinated status.

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On January 1, 2021, Georgia joined 41 other states in allowing a person to remove certain convictions from their criminal record after a period of “conviction-free” years. With the passage of SB 288, an individual of any age may petition their original sentencing court to restrict and seal the record of a misdemeanor offense four years after they have completed their sentence. The individual can make this petition as long as they have not been convicted of a new offense in those four years and do not have any pending charges.

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On April 21, 2021, the City of Chicago passed the “Vaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance,” which allows all workers in Chicago—including independent contractors—to get vaccinated during their work hours. The Ordinance went into effect immediately on April 21, 2021, and applies to employers of any size in the City of Chicago.

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On January 27, 2021, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals let employers know that they cannot use recommendations from psychologists to justify disability discrimination in hiring. In Gibbs v. City of Pittsburgh, 989 F.3d 226 (3d Cir. 2021), the City routinely relied on psychologists to evaluate applicants for jobs as police officers. The plaintiff in Gibbs had aced the written test and received a conditional job offer, but two of the three psychologists who interviewed him recommended against his hiring because of his ADHD diagnosis and some criminal history as a youth, which occurred before he began treatment for his ADHD. The trial court dismissed his complaint essentially because it found that passing the psychological test was a prerequisite for the job and concluded that reliance on it did not reflect actionable discrimination. The Third Circuit, however, disagreed.

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On March 11, 2021, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 842. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (“PRO Act”) would amend aspects of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by expanding protections of employees’ rights to collectively bargain in the workplace and penalizing companies that violate those rights.

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On April 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed a statewide right to recall ordinance (SB 93) into law. SB 93 is effective immediately. SB 93 codifies Labor Code section 2810.8 and requires hotels with more than 50 guestrooms to recall laid-off employees based on hire-date seniority.

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On March 23, 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB 1480 into law, amending three state statutes. First, the Illinois Human Rights Act is amended to impose employer obligations when making employment decisions based on criminal convictions. Second, the Illinois Business Corporation Act is amended to require EEO-1 reporting to the state. Third, the Illinois Equal Pay Act is amended to require employers to obtain an “Equal Pay Registration Certificate” by March 24, 2024.

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The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), signed into law on March 11, 2021, obligates employers to pay COBRA insurance premiums for individuals who suffer job loss. Under the plan, employers receive the subsidy, which they pass along to COBRA enrolled former employees, through a payroll tax credit on quarterly Medicare taxes. The subsidy period is April 1 to September 30, 2021, and both fully insured and self-insured group plans are eligible for the credit.

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On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 95, providing supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-related leaves and absences. The supplemental paid sick leave requirements apply in addition to previous paid time off requirements, such as statutory paid sick leave or vacation time provided by the employer. Although the statute requirements do not begin until March 29, 2021, the requirements will apply retroactively to January 1, 2021, and are effective through September 30, 2021. Employers should move quickly to examine and revise their policies, practices, and payroll records for compliance.

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On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed legislation granting both public and private employees time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Under this new law, employees are entitled to receive paid, job-protected leave “for a sufficient period of time, not to exceed four hours per vaccine injection” (i.e., 8 hours of total leave if receiving two shots) to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

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For several months, employees who were exposed to or in “close contact” with a COVID-19 case were required to quarantine/isolate from the workplace for 14 days. As the vaccine’s availability increases and more workers become fully vaccinated, guidance relating to these quarantine/isolation protocols will loosen.

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The U.S. Department of Labor has delayed for at least 60 days implementation of changes to the tip credit rules that would have taken effect on March 1. This delay cites the January 20, 2021, memorandum “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” which directed the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies to consider delaying the effective dates of all regulations that had been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken effect.

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On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom approved Assembly Bill 685, which imposes enhanced notice and recordkeeping obligations on employers and expands Cal/OSHA’s enforcement powers. These provisions are set to expire January 1, 2023.

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On September 30, 2020, California enacted SB 973, which requires large private employers to report specific pay data to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) by March 31, 2021, and annually thereafter. SB 973 is designed to identify hidden yet persistent racial and gender pay gaps that can result from unconscious biases or historical inequities. The rule allows for effective enforcement of equal pay or anti-discrimination laws. As of February 16, 2021, employers can now submit their 2020 pay data at the Pay Reporting Portal.

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As the coronavirus vaccine becomes more widely available over the next few months, many employers grapple with the question of whether to mandate the vaccine. Following EEOC guidelines, some employers plan to require it as a condition to returning to the workplace (i.e., nursing homes). In contrast, others prefer to “encourage” vaccinations, leaving the ultimate decision to employees. In an effort to minimize health risks and provide peace of mind to employees returning to the workplace, some employers are asking whether they can offer incentives to encourage employees who get the vaccine.

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As part of his State of the State address on January 11, 2021, Governor Cuomo announced changes in the calculation of unemployment benefits for part-time workers in New York.

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The Department of Labor has issued new tipping regulations, to take effect on March 1, that make a few significant changes, some of which may be advantageous to hospitality employers.

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After much confusion sparked by a press release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health earlier this week, LACDPH just issued its second Revised Temporary Targeted Safer at Home Health Officer Order in less than 24 hours.

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On December 16, 2020, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 guidance to include guidelines pertaining to mandatory vaccinations in the workplace. The EEOC stated that the administration of the COVID-19 vaccination is not a “medical examination” under the ADA, and thus private employers may require employees to be vaccinated as a condition to continued employment, or, at the very least, as a condition to returning to the workplace.

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California recently adopted stringent COVID-19 workplace standards, known as the “Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulations”, that immediately went into effect on November 30, 2020.

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2020 forced millions of employers to adapt their business models to allow employees to work from home and it looks as if this trend will continue indefinitely for many employers. With this in mind, employers should be aware of certain unintended consequences of having a workforce that telecommutes, namely the creation of additional repositories of electronic data that may be discoverable later in litigation. Given that this is the new normal, businesses should take this opportunity to review and update their data retention and litigation hold policies to ensure that they are meeting their obligations and setting themselves up to be successful should this data be needed in the future. Here are four simple steps you can take now to update your protocols.

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Exemption from overtime is dependent on two factors: an employee’s salary and an employee’s duties. Effective October 3, 2020, new regulations issued by Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry took effect. These regulations began expanding eligibility for overtime based on salary and updating the task-related tests for determining whether an employee is exempt from overtime.

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On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom approved Senate Bill No. 1159, which creates a framework for COVID-19 related workers’ compensation claims. The new law adds Section 3212.88 to the California Labor Code and applies to employees of employers with 5 or more employees (other than first responders and certain health workers) who test positive during an outbreak at the employee’s specific place of employment. The law will remain effective until January 1, 2023.

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On August 5, 2020, Georgia Governor Kemp signed into law “Charlotte’s Law,” providing additional workplace protections to working mothers who need to express breast milk during working hours. Charlotte’s Law went into effect on August 5, 2020, and applies to all private employers.

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On September 9, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1867 immediately expanding supplemental paid sick leave (“SPSL”) for COVID-19-related reasons for employers who did not qualify for Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) because of size. The new law, codified as Labor Code section 248.1 (“LC 248.1”), requires compliance by September 19, 2020.

Here is what you need to know.

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On September 8, 2020, The San Diego City Council passed two ordinances to protect vulnerable workers amidst the pandemic, effective immediately. The COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Ordinance requires large companies employing more than 500 workers to provide supplemental paid sick leave for employees. The COVID-19 Building Service and Hotel Worker Recall Ordinance requires commercial property businesses, hotels, and event centers to recall laid-off employees by seniority when business activity resumes and to retain employees in the event that the business changes ownership during the pandemic.

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On August 11, 2020, Nevada Governor signed Senate Bill No. 4 (SB 4) into law, introducing a myriad of new measures to enhance worker safety related to COVID-19 for employers in the hospitality industry. Specifically, employers will have to grapple with new mandatory cleaning standards, a response plan for testing, and paid time off for employees who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed. The Department of Health and Human Services adopted regulations pursuant to SB4 on August 31, 2020, making the new measures effective immediately.

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On September 30, employees of private employers in New York state will begin to accrue paid sick leave as a new law signed by Governor Cuomo on April 3, 2020, begins to take effect. The law requires most private employers in New York to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave each year to all their workers, including part-timers and casual employees. Employees may begin using the accrued leave effective January 1, 2021, or when they begin employment.

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On August 31, 2020, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 1383, which expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to allow employees to use unpaid job-protected leave to care for a domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law with a serious health condition.

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Yesterday, California lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 3216, which establishes “Recall Rights” and a “Right of Retention” for laid-off employees. California employers must offer laid-off employees in writing by mail, email, and text message all job positions that become available after the bill’s effective date for which the laid-off employees are qualified. AB 3216 now heads to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature, where he has until September 30, 2020 to sign it.

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Unlimited vacation policies have gained popularity in recent years, both with employees and employers. These policies allow employees can take as much time off as their responsibilities allow, and relieve employers of the administrative burden of tracking PTO accrual, use, and payout. Even more attractive to the employers is the proposition that an unlimited PTO policy avoids the requirement of paying out accrued but unused PTO at the end of employment. For traditional PTO accrual policies, earned vacation is considered wages, and Labor Code Section 227.3, requires an employer to payout earned but unused vacation time upon separation. In contrast, under unlimited PTO policies, employees do not accrue and “bank” vacation hours to use later; rather they are entrusted to take time off at their election, so long as they complete their work and perform as expected.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revised the guidance regarding when to return an employee to work following a positive COVID-19 test. These revisions shorten the period of time a person should self-isolate and adopt a symptom-based strategy rather than a test-based strategy.

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On July 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released new forms for Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave. Their stated purpose is to make the process easier, ensure the completeness of the necessary information, and allow for electronic signatures to reduce contact.

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Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers engaging in a “concerted activity” with other employees, such as a union organizer or representative discussing conditions of employment with an employer, qualifies as a protected activity.

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On July 13, 2020, the California Department of Public Health issued Updated COVID-19 Testing Guidance urging employers not to require a negative COVID-19 test before allowing an employee to return to work after they have tested positive for COVID-19.

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The City of Los Angeles released its increased minimum wage for hotels in the City of LA with 150+ rooms. On July 1, 2020, the hourly minimum wage increases from $16.63/hour to $17.13/hour for these hotel workers. The announcement can be found on the City of Los Angeles’ website, which can be found here.

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The City of Los Angeles released its increased minimum wage for hotels in the City of LA with 150+ rooms. On July 1, 2020, the hourly minimum wage increases from $16.63/hour to $17.13/hour for these hotel workers. The announcement can be found on the City of Los Angeles’ website, which can be found here.

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As businesses adapt to their “new normal” and prepare for the summer season, employers should be mindful of the approaching increases to city and state minimum wages. Employers should take the time to ensure that they are ready for minimum wage increases scheduled for July 1, 2020.

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On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court made its long-awaited decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, holding that Title VII protections expand to sexual orientation discrimination. In a landmark ruling, Justice Gorsuch, appointed by President Trump in 2017, delivered the majority opinion, in a move expanding beyond partisanship ideology. In a 6-3 opinion, the Court found that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII under the definition of “sex.” Although many states have already addressed this gap in the law in their own anti-discrimination laws, the ruling resolves a circuit split amongst the federal Courts of Appeals and closes a blind spot in federal law.

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The recently enacted Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 changes several provisions in the original PPP loan program enacted as part of the CARES Act. The PPPFA gives borrowers more flexibility and time to spend the PPP loan proceeds and allows the funds to be used on broader categories of expenses while still qualifying for loan forgiveness.

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On June 5, 2020, CAL-OSHA released non-exhaustive guidelines for reopening hotels, lodging, and short-term rentals. Reopening processes should begin no sooner than June 12, 2020, subject to local county health officer approval. Properties with large meeting venues, banquet halls, or convention centers are advised to keep those areas closed until further approval. Property managers and other rental unit owners and operators must only rent unoccupied units and cannot rent rooms or spaces within an occupied residence at this time.

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Many employers have “no solicitation” policies for the workplace, prohibiting employees from soliciting for causes of any kind at work. These policies can be tricky to enforce when union solicitation is at issue. In recent years, the Board had narrowed the definition of “union solicitation” to hold that it does not qualify as “solicitation” unless the person soliciting provided a union authorization card to the listener. Now, the Board has reversed that precedent.

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The fluctuating workweek formula applies to nonexempt, salaried employees whose hours vary widely from week to week. The formula allows employers to pay overtime hours at diminishing rates as long as they pay workers a minimum base salary, regardless of how many hours they work. While certain states have disallowed the fluctuating workweek, states who allow the method just received some clarity from the Department of Labor (“DOL”).

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The recent guidance concerning OSHA’s record-keeping requirements will go into effect on May 26, 2020. Under the requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, which means employers are duty-bound to record cases of COVID-19, if they meet certain criteria.

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Not long after the City of Los Angeles enacted its “Right of Recall” ordinance, the County of Los Angeles shortly followed suit. The County Board of Supervisors recently adopted similar measures to establish a right of recall for hospitality workers and others throughout unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County that were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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California recently modified its Stay-at-Home Order (Executive Order N-33-20) as of May 8, 2020, to allow manufacturing and certain retail businesses to re-open for curbside business. This modification of the Stay-at-Home Order has left hotels wondering whether hotels are allowed to re-open its doors to guests traveling for leisure or non-essential travel.

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Dine-in restaurants, brewpubs, breweries, bars, pubs, craft distilleries, and wineries that provide sit-down meals are permitted to open under Stage Two of Governor Newsom’s plan. In light of re-openings, California issued guidance to support a safe, clean environment for both workers and customers. The guidance (available in full here) recommends implementing a written, workplace-specific plan. To create a workplace-specific plan, employers should perform a comprehensive risk assessment of all work areas and designate a person at each establishment to implement the plan. After the initial implementation of the plan, employers should regularly reevaluate the establishment for compliance with the plan, investigate any COVID-19 illness, and determine whether work factors could have contributed to a risk of infection. Employers should then update the plan as needed.

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On Monday, May 4, 2020, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (“AHLA”) announced healthy and safety guidelines regarding hygiene and cleanliness standards in line with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). The AHLA guidance comes under the direction of its advisory council consisting of 25 industry leaders, including Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and Omni. The “Safe Stay” program aims to set the standard for hotel hygiene standards post-pandemic and boost consumer confidence per CDC and other public health authorities’ guidance.

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Yesterday California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-62-20, creating a rebuttable presumption that employees who test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of working contracted the virus at work. Employers will have 30 days to rebut the claim by proving the employee contracted the virus elsewhere. This order puts a significant burden of proof on employers.

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San Francisco’s Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (“PHELO” or the “Ordinance”) requires businesses with 500+ employees to provide employees with up to 80 hours of paid leave for COVID-related reasons (“PHELO Leave”). While the Ordinance passed on April 7, 2020, the Ordinance was amended and went into effect on April 17, 2020. Shortly after, on April 24, 2020, the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) updated its guidance on the Ordinance.

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Businesses fortunate enough to receive a Paycheck Protection Loan (“PPP”) under the CARES Act are now asking, “what do I need to do to get this loan forgiven?” That answer gets more complicated as the days roll on without guidance from the Small Business Administration (“SBA”). Recall there were numerous changes/interpretations applicable to the application process as the application deadline neared.

Here is what we know so far:

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The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday passed the amended Right of Recall and Worker Retention ordinances that mandate businesses in the hospitality industry to rehire workers laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ordinances were originally aimed at all businesses in Los Angeles but will now only apply to workers in hotels with more than 50 guestrooms, event centers, and airport service, as well as janitorial, maintenance, and security workers in commercial buildings. Restaurants, bars, and clubs are exempt, however workers of restaurants physically located on hotel property are also covered.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are struggling to determine how to protect their current workforce. We’ve compiled a list of common inquiries regarding this pandemic.

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On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in support of a set of ordinances that establish right of recall and worker retention protections to workers laid off during the COVID-19 crisis. Following extensive public comment and several verbal amendments, the City Council approved the “Right of Recall” (Article 4-72J-A) ordinance.

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It’s easy to lose track of time when you work from home and forget to change out of your work sweatpants and into your relaxing sweatpants at the end of the day. But while teleworking eschews much of the formality of the workplace, it remains critically important that employers don’t lose track of hourly employees’ time. Employers are still ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with wage and hour laws. Keep these tips in mind if you have hourly employees working from home.

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City of LA issues rules and regulations further clarifying supplemental paid sick leave for large employers.

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Mayor Garcetti has issued an executive order requiring customers at grocery stores and other essential businesses to wear face coverings.

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a Public Order on April 7, 2020, mandating supplemental paid sick leave requirements for large employers within Los Angeles and nationwide. This Order expands on the previous ordinance passed by City Council providing supplemental paid sick leave to employers with 500 or more employees nationwide. Please see our previous article for more information on the City Council ordinance.

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Life has changed in ways most of us could never have imagined. Our homes have become our safe havens more than ever before, and our workplaces have spilled over into our home offices, kitchen tables, and family rooms. As we settle into our new normal, we find ourselves connecting to family, friends, and colleagues through Zoom meetings, livestream services, and quarantini virtual happy hours. Without a vaccine, the spread of COVID-19 is a concern that will not quickly disappear. Maintaining a healthy and productive workplace for employees will continue to be a top priority long after the days of walking from the bedroom to the home office have passed.

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The City of Los Angeles passed an ordinance on March 27, 2020, requiring employers with more than 500 employees to provide up to 80 hours of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (“PSL”) to employees. This Supplemental PSL is in addition to the 48 hours of PSL already required by the City.

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The DOL has issued new guidance and clarified that employees who do not have work available to them (e.g., as a result of a furlough or business closure) will not be eligible for benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

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With the amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases exponentially rising, the federal government has passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (FFCRA or Act) to help during the crisis. The bill, which passed with broad bipartisan support, includes a division providing for emergency paid sick leave.

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In the wake of business slowdowns and shutdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers face a dilemma when forced to furlough or layoff workers. The Federal and California WARN Acts require 60 days’ notice before laying off employees, subject to certain thresholds. This presents an untenable situation for employers forced to shut down, where they are essentially forced to violate the notice requirement because they cannot continue employing people.

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On October 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The NPRM seeks to implement and refine the changes on tip pooling made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) OF 2018. Most notably, it eliminates the 80/20 rule used to determine if an employer may incorporate an employee’s tips as part of their wages when the employee engages in both tipped and non-tipped duties. If adopted, the NPRM would greatly impact the hospitality industry by expanding the variety of employees who are permitted to participate in a tip pool.

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As the 2020 United States Census goes into full effect, the U.S. Census Bureau is sending letters to various hotels requesting their participation in the 2020 Census count (the “Census”). Every time, our clients have the same question: do we have to participate?

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus, which has now been detected in almost 70 locations internationally, including in the United States.

COVID-19 has become a serious issue for all employers. Stokes Wagner has prepared the following best practices for you to consider in your business.

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The National Labor Relations Board‘s (“NLRB”) “joint employer” test has had tremendous implications for hospitality employers due to the industry’s reliance on third-party employees to supplement their workforces. The NLRB finally released the new test on February 25, 2020, and effectively replaced the previous test outlined in its 2015 Browning-Ferris Industries decision. The new rule narrows the test the NLRB will use to determine when businesses will be liable for the work of third-party employees under federal law. The new rule takes effect on April 27, 2020.

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On February 13, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., holding that the time employees spend waiting for their bags and other personal belongings to be screened at the end of a workday is compensable.

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On January 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor published three new opinion letters that every employer should review. The first involves an employer’s nondiscretionary bonus payment of $3,000 given to employees who completed ten weeks of training with a promise to complete eight more weeks. In the second letter, the DOL determined that a per-project payment method satisfies the salary basis regulations for exemption under the FLSA. The third letter addressed compliance under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”).

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Beginning on March 15, 2020, employers will have to begin providing their Pittsburgh employees with paid sick leave pursuant to a Pittsburgh ordinance passed in 2015. Now that it has cleared judicial hurdles, the new law will require employers to provide their Pittsburgh employees one hour of sick leave for every 35 hours worked within the geographical limits of the City of Pittsburgh. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are not required to pay for the leave for one year after implementation of the law, but beginning on March 15, 2021, even small employers will be required to provide paid leave. The Guidelines for Administering Pittsburgh City Code Chapter 626 describe how to count employees for purposes of determining size of employer.

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Typically used in offices, hotels, hospitals, etc., to provide multiple phones lines within one building, multi-line telephone systems (“MLTS”) are the subject of two new federal laws: (1) Kari’s Law and (2) the Ray Baum Act.

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AB 51, the law that would prohibit California employers from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment, remains on pause indefinitely. On January 31, 2020, after receiving supplemental briefing from both sides, the Eastern District of California issued an order granting preliminary injunction and indefinitely extending the injunction that prevents AB 51 from taking effect. This means that the State of California may not enforce AB 51 until the legal challenges to AB 51 are heard on the merits.

Employers should stay tuned for more updates as the Court will eventually determine whether the State of California should be permanently enjoined from enforcing AB 51. For now, the status quo remains and employers need not make any changes to arbitration agreements that are covered by the Federal Arbitration Act.

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On January 14, 2020, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted to advance the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694). The act aims to eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and security by allowing pregnant women to continue working without jeopardizing their pregnancy. Although the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disability Act provide some federal protections for pregnant workers, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will be the first federal law that explicitly guarantees all pregnant workers the right to reasonable accommodation.

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In September 2019, Seattle City Council voted to adopt a series of ordinances aimed at protecting hotel employees. These ordinances go into effect on July 1, 2020. The four separate ordinances include a range of rules that limit the square footage a housekeeping attendant can clean, mandate additional wages to cover health insurance costs, provide panic buttons for certain workers, and provide new regulations for retaining workers after a change in ownership.

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The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) grants new rights to California consumers, took effect on January 1, 2020. In response, businesses must take on new obligations.

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The temporary restraining order (“TRO”) which prevents the enforcement of AB 51 remains in effect until January 31, 2020. As a reminder, California’s AB 51 bars mandatory arbitration agreements in employment agreements. Click here for background on AB 51 and the challenges it faces.

On January 10, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California heard oral argument from both sides as to whether the Court should enjoin the enforcement of AB 51 until the Court decides the challenge on the merits.

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California’s AB 51, barring mandatory arbitration agreements in employment, is now facing preemption and injunction challenges. On December 6, 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, and several other business organizations filed suit in federal court against the State of California, alleging that AB 51 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

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Employers throughout the U.S. are wrapping up October by participating in National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a tradition that can be traced back to 1945. The purpose of NDEAM is to raise awareness about disability employment issues and celebrate the significant contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. The theme of this year’s outreach effort emphasizes the importance of the subject today: “The Right Talent, Right Now.” “Every day, individuals with disabilities add significant value and talent to our workforce and economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “Individuals with disabilities offer employers diverse perspectives on how to tackle challenges and achieve success. Individuals with disabilities have the right talent, right now.”

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Nevada’s SB 312, signed into law in June of this year, is set to take effect January 1, 2020. For the first time in the State’s history, this bill will legislatively mandate private employers to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave per benefit year. This mandate will be enforced by the Nevada Labor Commission and will subject employers to fines of up to $5,000 per violation for non-compliance.

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On October 10, 2019, Governor Newsom signed AB 51 and AB 9 into law. These two worker-friendly laws may require employers to review and revise current policies and procedures relating to employment-related claims. Specifically, AB 51 prohibits employers from entering into mandatory arbitration agreements for all employment-law related claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the California Labor Code. Additionally, under AB 9, the deadline for filing an employment-related administrative complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is extended by two years. The laws are set to take effect on January 1, 2020, and may face some challenges in the meantime; however, employers should prepare now for the changes in the landscape of employment-related claims.

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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a trio of cases asking whether federal law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination. Currently, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers “on the basis of…sex” among other protected traits. The Court’s ruling on these cases will determine whether “sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

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It’s no secret that California is typically viewed as the most employee-friendly state in the country. New employee-favored laws are passed so quickly that employee handbooks can be rendered outdated before they go to print. Employers who have found themselves on the wrong end of a wage and hour case can attest to the fact that one alleged error, when applied to each employee, can be devastating. On top of that, one Labor Code violation often leads to another violation, and so on and so on.

At issue in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., a decision issued on September 26, 2019, was the question of whether employees who are entitled to a meal or rest break premium (after denial of a meal or rest period in violation of Labor Code § 226.7) may also recover derivative penalties under Labor Code § 203 (waiting time penalties) and § 226 (inaccurate wage statements).

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The U.S. Department of Labor released its highly anticipated final rule governing the new salary threshold for the “white collar” overtime exemptions. Effective January 1, 2020, the final rule raises the salary threshold for exempt white-collar workers to $35,568 per year.

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Today, on September 18, 2019, California Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5), a landmark piece of legislation that codifies the ABC test and will significantly limit most employers’ use of independent contractors.

Last year, in April 2018, the California Supreme Court rocked the State’s labor and employment landscape with the decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (“Dynamex”). The court’s decision changed the way employers classified independent contractors from the longstanding Borello test (an eleven-factor test with no single factor being determinative of a workers’ classification) to a much stricter “ABC” test.

Starting on January 1, 2020, the ABC test becomes state law. California will consider a person providing labor to be an employee of a hiring entity unless:

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California employers now have until January 1, 2021, to provide sexual harassment training to their non-supervisory employees.

Last year, California passed SB 1343, which expanded sexual harassment training requirements for employers. All employers with five or more employees were required to provide sexual harassment training to non-supervisory (or “hourly”) employees by January 1, 2020. These employers are now required to provide sexual harassment training to employees as follows:

• Supervisors/Managers must receive two hours of training; • Non-supervisory employees must receive one hour of training.

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Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified two questions of state law to the California Supreme Court:

1. Does the absence of a formal policy regarding meal and rest breaks violate California law?
2. Does an employer’s failure to keep records for meal and rest breaks taken by its employees create a rebuttable presumption that the meal and rest breaks were not provided?

The answers to these questions could profoundly affect the way employers in the state notify employees and keep records of meal and rest breaks.

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A recent federal court decision reminds employers that an employee’s electronic acceptance of an arbitration agreement may not, by itself, be enough to prove that the employee has agreed to arbitrate. In Shockley v. PrimeLending, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit recently affirmed the lower court’s decision to deny the employer’s motion to compel arbitration where the arbitration agreement was signed via the employer’s automated intranet system.

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The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) recently issued a precedent-reversing ruling on August 23, 2019, that allows employers to bar non-employees from leafletting on their premises. In its decision, the Board held that contractor employees are not generally entitled to the same National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Section 7 access rights as the property owner’s employees.

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On August 27, 2019, the Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance providing certain protections for hotel workers, with particular focus on Room Attendants, working in the city of Santa Monica. The City Council heard lengthy public comment on both sides of the proposed ordinance, with Unite Here’s Local 11 being both the most numerous and the most outspoken in favor of the ordinance.

At the close of public comment, changes were made to the ordinance as initially proposed. These changes, in large part, only made the ordinance more restrictive on hotel employers. The following is a summary of the ordinance’s requirements. All the following requirements will become effective on January 1, 2020, unless otherwise specified.

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The State of California recently passed SB-83, which extends Paid Family Leave benefits from six to eight weeks for claims that start on or after July 1, 2020.

CA’s Paid Family Leave program (“PFL”) is a state disability insurance program. PFL provides up to eight weeks of wage replacement benefits to employees who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner. PFL can also provide eight weeks for benefits to employees who take time off to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.

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Last year the Miami Beach City Commission passed a law requiring all hotels within the City of Miami Beach to provide certain employees with panic buttons by September 15, 2019. Modeled after Chicago’s 2018 safety-button ordinance, the new law applies not only to housekeepers or room attendants but also to minibar attendants and room service servers. Will your property be ready?

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On August 9, the National Labor Relations Board released three proposed new rules designed to ease employees’ ability to avoid unionization or decertify unions.

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Georgia’s Smoke-Free Air Act and Atlanta’s current smoking ordinances allow smoking only in establishments that deny access to minors or have a private room for smokers with an air-handling system separate from the main air system. The Atlanta City Council has voted to amend the ordinance to abolish these two smoking exceptions for smoking indoors. The amended ordinance’s main purpose is to protect Atlanta citizens from secondhand smoke which, according to the City Council, causes the same diseases as directly using tobacco products.

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The City of Chicago becomes the latest city to pass predictive scheduling legislation, also known as the “Fair Workweek Ordinance.” Effective July 1, 2020, this Ordinance requires certain employers to give most workers early notice of their schedules and to pay employees whose schedules are changed after they receive notice.

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The EEOC collects workforce data from employers with more than 100 employees (a lower threshold applies to federal contractors). The data collected is used for several purposes, including enforcement, employers’ self-assessment, and for research. Historically, such employers have been required to file annual Employer Information Reports (“EEO-1 Component 1 Reports”) disclosing the number of employees by job category, race and gender.

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In January 2020, Nevada will become the first state to bar employers from refusing to hire a prospective employee due to a positive drug test for cannabis. The new law carves out some exceptions for employees who operate a motor vehicle or whose cannabis use could adversely impact the safety of others but protects all other job applicants.

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The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) is set to take effect January 1, 2020. Since the announcement, employers have been raising concerns about whether the provisions of the act will include personal data collected from job applicants and employees. In May of 2019, the Assembly passed Assembly Bill 25 (“AB 25”), which explicitly narrowed the definition of “consumer” to exempt a business’ applicants and employees, among others. Just this week, the Senate significantly amended AB 25 by sunsetting the employee exemption on January 1, 2021.

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On July 10, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed two new bills that expand New York State’s equal pay Labor Law § 194. These new bills specifically (1) expand the scope of New York State’s equal pay law to all protected classes and (2) prohibit employers from asking an applicant about their prior salary history.

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced that it will be collecting data on pay and hours worked from 2017 and 2018. The deadline for employers to submit this information to the EEOC is September 30, 2019.

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As you may have heard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) plans to begin the previously postponed raids across the country starting this Sunday (7/14/19). From what we can gather, ICE plans to target at least 10 cities to arrest individuals here illegally who have court orders for removal from the country. The raids were initially scheduled for 4th of July but were postponed.

While there has not been confirmation on the targeted cities, the raids are expected in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans (likely postponed here due to the hurricane Barry), New York, and San Francisco.

While we have no reason to believe ICE will target individuals at work, this is a good time to educate yourself on your right regarding law enforcement requests for information. Please feel free to reach out to Stokes Wagner with any questions.

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Dogs have always been our best friends, so it’s not surprising that more and more restaurants are making strides to ensure their patrons can dine without leaving their fur babies at home. But with great change comes great liability. Here are some points restaurant owners should consider so dogs can dine without incident.

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On April 30, 2018, the California courts rocked the State’s labor and employment landscape with the decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (“Dynamex”). The court’s decision changed the way employers classified independent contractors from the longstanding Borello test (an eleven-factor test with no single factor being determinative of a workers’ classification) to the much stricter “ABC” test.

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On July 3, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair.) While New York City recently became the first locality to enact such legislation, California is the first to ban natural hair discrimination statewide.

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The U.S. Women’s National Team is on track to defend its 2015 World Cup title after defeating Spain in the Round of 16 on June 24. They’re the favorite in their upcoming quarter-final match against France on June 27. Away from the pitch, they face another battle: in March, members of the team filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Los Angeles, seeking equal pay under the Equal Pay Act and Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act.

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Last month New York Governor Cuomo approved amendments to the state’s election laws that provide employees with up to three hours of paid leave on election days. In order to qualify, employees must be registered to vote and must give their employers two days’ notice of their intent to take election leave.

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If there is one thing worse than sexual harassment in the workplace, it’s retaliation against a victim of harassment as a result of reporting harassment. Existing law in California prohibits an employer from terminating, discriminating or retaliating against an employee because of the employee’s status as a victim of sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (Labor Code, Section 230). Assembly Bill-171 (presented by Gonzalez, D-San Diego) seeks to broaden the protections for such victims by providing a “rebuttable presumption” of unlawful retaliation if an employer within 90 days following either the date when the victim provides notice to the employer or when the employer has actual knowledge of the status, discharges, threatens to discharge, demotes, suspends, or takes any other adverse action against the victim-employee. “Harassment” in this context means sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

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In January 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California would soon be expanding its Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. That promise has come to fruition in the May revisions to Governor Newsom’s budget released earlier this month.

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As spring starts to turn into summer, increases to city and state minimum wages are steadily approaching. Employers should take the time now to ensure that they are ready for minimum wage increases scheduled for July 1, 2019.

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On March 4, 2019, the U.S. District for the District of Columbia issued an opinion reinstating the EEOC’s collection of pay data as part of the EEO-1 Report filing. The revised EEO-1 form was an Obama-era change that would have required employers with 100 or more employees to report W-2 wage information and total hours worked for all employees by race, ethnicity and sex within 12 proposed pay bands. The pay data collection requirement was originally slated to go into effect on March 31, 2018 but was stalled after the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) stayed the implementation of the pay data collection portions of the revised EEO-1 Report.

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Recently, the United State Supreme Court accepted three different cases dealing with gay and transgender rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sex and the question of whether this includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity has been hotly contested in recent years. While opinions issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) have generally indicated that sexual orientation and gender identity should fall within the purview of Title VII, courts have remained divided over these issues. It is anticipated that the Supreme Court’s decisions will finally provide much-needed clarity for employers and the LGBTQ community at large.

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Did you receive a notice from the Social Security Administration that an employee’s name and Social Security Number are mismatched on their W-2 this tax season? Not to worry, this is a fairly common occurrence, and the Social Security Administration has provided simple instructions for addressing the issue.

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It’s no secret within the hospitality industry that restaurants and hotels have thin profit margins, averaging only 3-5%. With the two largest expenses being fixed rent and variable labor, it is not uncommon for venues to focus on labor costs. This undoubtedly explains the growing trend to evaluate outsourcing certain positions. Outsourcing aims to eliminate overtime and the cost of employee benefits while responding to business level fluctuations in real-time. But, if the outsource process is mismanaged, it may create more problems than it solves. These are our top 5 prevention tips to avoid problems.

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Even in California, where the courts have resisted sending employee claims to arbitration, the tide is turning in favor of mandatory employment arbitration agreements. The California Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District reversed the decision of Los Angeles Superior Court judge William Fahey denying the employer’s petition to enforce its arbitration agreement.

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With the popularity of Facebook and the widespread use of social media by employees, it probably comes as no surprise that experts believe a person’s Facebook status update offers interesting (and usually obvious) insight about his or her personality. Some people tend to share photos of their travel adventures or culinary skills while others post primarily about the political issues of the day or their kid’s latest athletic competition. For the reader, status updates can be interesting, fun and educational. They can also be dangerous traps for the unwary when they consist of unrestrained rants targeting an employer. Certainly, “concerted activities” for the purpose of mutual aid or protection are permitted and protected by the National Labor Relations Act; therefore, posts consisting of complaints concerning working conditions or worker’s rights will typically not support termination of the employee. However, before “going off” on an employer on social media, or tolerating the same by your employees, remember that such posts may be viewed as offensive and unprotected, supporting a legal termination.

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Joint employer status has long been a hot topic and is seemingly a moving target depending on which agency or jurisdiction is evaluating the status. In a move to reduce uncertainty over joint employer status, promote greater uniformity among court decisions, reduce litigation, and encourage innovation in the economy, on April 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed a four-part test to replace existing regulations that determine joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). While the proposal was favorably received by managers/employers, it sparked criticism from the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who accused the DOL of ignoring precedent that interpreted joint employment broadly.

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Last month, the New York City Commission on Human Rights released new guidelines (available here) that explicitly protect “the rights of New Yorkers to maintain natural hairstyles that are closely associated with their racial, ethnic, or cultural identities.” Penalties for employers include fines up to $250,000 per infraction with unlimited civil damages.

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Employers in New York City now have additional requirements for their employee lactation rooms and lactation policies.

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More employees will now be considered non-exempt, as the U.S. Department of Labor raised the minimum salary threshold for workers to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white collar” exemption. In replacing an Obama administration rule, the new proposal would raise the salary threshold requirement from $23,660 to $35,308 per year. As a result, more employees will be subject to compensation for any time exceeding 40 hours in the workweek.

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Pay equity has taken center stage among the wide array of workplace issues receiving news coverage and public prominence in recent years. Companies and courts alike are trying to determine how to ensure that men and women are paid fairly in connection with their work and experience. The question of how to address pay equity has created such clamor and divergence that the United States Supreme Court decided to review the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation of the law in Fresno County Superintendent of Schools v. Rizo, Case No. 18-272. However, in a shocking twist, the Supreme Court vacated the underlying case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal on February 25, 2019, in light of the death of Ninth Circuit Justice Stephen Reinhardt.

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Does your company still perform background checks on employees? If you answered yes, then the Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling on background check disclosures applies and you should review your company’s background check disclosures immediately.

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Security has become a paramount concern for hotels across the globe. While the hospitality industry has historically prioritized efforts to safeguard properties from physical threats of violence, digital security threats are on a meteoric rise. Most notably, hackers have devised ways to infiltrate hotels’ online security measures. A common tactic used by hackers involves the use of ransomware, a type of malicious software that prevents system access unless a sum of money is paid to the culprits. A very infamous example took place in the Austrian Alps at the four-star Seehotel. Between December 2016 and January 2017, Seehotel’s electronic door locks and other internal systems were held for ransom on four separate occasions. Guests were unable to use their hotel door keys until Seehotel’s managing director paid the digital attackers.

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Due to a recent California Court of Appeal ruling, employers must now pay employees “reporting time pay” when employees are required to call their worksite two (2) hours prior to a scheduled on-call shift and must report to work for that shift if the employer requests. In Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., the Court made clear that this ruling applies prospectively and not retroactively.

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The National Labor Relations Board’s recent ruling in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc. returns to a longstanding standard in evaluating proper independent contractor classification. Although its scope is limited, the recent ruling eases restrictions on proper independent contractor classification for purposes of unionization rights under the NLRA, specifically where the workers’ role involves “entrepreneurial opportunity.”

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As employer-provided rideshares and shuttles grow in popularity, employers often ask whether their employees should be paid for their time spent on company-provided transportation. A California appellate court recently affirmed a long-standing rule that, so long as the employer-provided shuttle is optional, the time spent on a company-provided vehicle does not count as “hours worked” and is not compensable.

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Senate Bill 970, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 27, 2018, will require employers in the hotel and/or motel industry to educate their employees on human trafficking awareness.

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On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed a number of bills that will have a major impact on businesses operating in California.

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San Francisco implemented critical amendments to its “Ban-the-Box”, or “Fair Chance Ordinance” (“FCO”). These amendments went into effect on October 1, 2018.

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In the wake of the recent Las Vegas shooting and the rise of the #MeToo movement, concerns about safety in the hospitality space are at an all-time high. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (“AHLA”) recently re-emphasized its dedication to these issues through its announcement of the 5-Star Promise in September 2018. Most notably, major hotel brands including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Wyndham, have publicly shown their support for the Promise and its goals.

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Last week the Ninth Circuit filed its en banc opinion by the Ninth Circuit in Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, No. 15-15791, 2018 WL 4440364 (9th Cir. Sept. 18, 2018). In this case, the full Ninth Circuit overturned previous panel and district court decisions and upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s “20%” rule for tipped employees.

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In April 2018, Governor Cuomo of New York signed a set of laws aimed at combating sexual harassment in the workplace. New York employers must (1) provide all employees with written policies describing employee protections against sexual harassment and (2) conduct annual sexual harassment prevention trainings with all employees.

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On Tuesday, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection published a new version of the “Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act”. This version must be provided to job applicants when conducting employment background checks pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). The revised Summary of Rights alerts applicants to their right to obtain a free national “security freeze”, which prohibits credit reporting agencies from releasing a person’s credit report without their consent.

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The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has announced, effective January 2019, it will begin enforcing penalties against employers who file Form W-2s with inaccurate employee information.

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Hospitality guests have historically used gratuity to acknowledge their service staff’s excellent work. Employees have come to expect and rely on gratuities, as they now often form the majority of their incomes. Restaurants also sometimes charge guests mandatory fees instead of, or in addition to, gratuity. Yet employers often mislabel, mishandle and commingle gratuities and service charges, which can have serious legal implications. Understanding the differences between a gratuity and a service charge is critical. Below, we demystify these payments and explain how to limit your exposure through best practices.

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Significant amendments to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESTA”) went into effect on May 5, 2018. ESTA generally provides employees with the ability to use accrued paid time off for personal purposes. This paid time off (or, “paid sick leave”) can be used by employees to care for themselves or to care for family members.

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To further create workplaces free of sexual harassment and discrimination, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) has expanded regulations to require employers to honor an individual’s gender identity, provide gender-neutral facilities, and display posters informing employees of transgender rights. The most notable amendments to the regulations go into effect July 1, 2017.

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California hotels must display a human trafficking notice in a visible location near the public entrance or in another conspicuous location in clear view of the public and employees where similar notices are customarily posted.

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Starting August 30, 2018, California hotels must display additional signs warning guests of chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

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Recent amendments to Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) ordinance make it even more comprehensive and inclusive. The law provides employees of eligible employers with paid sick time as well as “safe” time to deal with situations such as domestic abuse or sexual assault, or closure of work or school for any health-related reason.

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Oregon’s “Fair Work Week Act” requires covered employers to provide employees with advanced notice of their work schedules. The new law applies to employers in the large retail, food service and hospitality industries with more than 500 employees worldwide and at least one or more hourly employees working in the State of Oregon.

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New York City recently signed the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act” into law. The Act amends the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) and the New York City Charter, providing several noteworthy changes aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

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On June 6, 2018, the NLRB’s new General Counsel, Peter B. Robb, issued guidance regarding the Board’s current policies on Employee Handbooks, expanding on the Board’s recent decision in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), and taking a more employer-friendly approach.

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The California Employment Development Department (EDD) recently updated its Notice to Employees poster (DE 1857A) and its pamphlet, For Your Benefit: California’s Program for the Unemployed (DE 2320).

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The #MeToo movement has prompted many state and local governments to expand protections prohibiting discrimination. Two months ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed a series of amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act, which forbids discrimination in connection with any protected class. If signed into law, the amendments could significantly impact employers.

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Historically, employers have not been on the hook for paying employees for time that was de minimis, or in other words, hard to capture in a time system and administratively difficult to record. However, that just changed with the decision in the California Supreme Court case, Troester v. Starbucks, Corp.

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If you are considering settling your employee’s workers’ compensation claim and hoping to avoid further litigation, be aware of the Adrian Camacho v. Target Corporation decision by California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal.

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Just last month, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into existence. GDPR is the legal framework establishing the guidelines for collection and processing of personal data of individuals in the European Union (“EU”) and the rights of the individuals with regard to such data. The GDPR requires businesses to be much more explicit about the information they maintain on people and to provide them with more control over that information. While European businesses may have been planning for the GDPR for some time, many U.S. companies are unprepared with no plans in place to comply. However, the long arm of the GDPR might apply to them.

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California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal-OSHA”) has approved new regulations to prevent workplace injuries to those working in the housekeeping and hospitality industry.

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The City of Los Angeles announced its Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage increase, which applies to hotels in the City of LA with 150 or more rooms.

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Today, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision holding that employers are not violating the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees to sign class action waivers in arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment. Rejecting the NLRB’s position that class waivers violate a workers’ right to engage in concerted action, the majority held that mandatory arbitration agreements, which bar employees from joining together in a class-action lawsuit to settle disputes over wages and working conditions, must be enforced.

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Determining whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or independent contractor can be difficult. California recently made this determination less challenging by providing a more rigid test.

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The #METOO movement took social media by storm in October 2017 as a means of illustrating the prevalence of sexual assault, harassment, and misconduct, particularly in the workplace. As the conversation around the #METOO movement swirls, employers have begun to assess how the movement affects their policies. Employers should stick to a simple three-part strategy: (1) promulgate a clear policy; (2) thoroughly investigate complaints; and (3) always respond accordingly and swiftly.

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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects the employee right to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of . . . mutual aid or protection.” This includes not only the right to support a union, but also simply the right of employees to converse among themselves on issues affecting their employment. Consequently, any workplace rule explicitly infringing on this right, as well as any rule applied so as to cause such infringement, can be held unlawful. For example, if employees regularly get together before or after work, during which gripes and grievances (or unions) can be discussed, a workplace rule restricting these gatherings will generally be held unlawful.

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The newest trend in Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) lawsuits target businesses’ websites. Litigants have increasingly sued or threatened to sue under Title III, alleging that the website is not sufficiently accessible to the disabled (i.e., the website lacks assistive technology for individuals who are blind or hearing-impaired).

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In 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) introduced regulations affirming that tips are the property of the employee regardless if the employer uses a tip credit under the FLSA. Under this framework, only “customarily tipped employees” can receive distributions from a company tip pool. Tip pools set up by employers to include employees who are not regularly tipped employees are invalid. This limitation applies even where the employees contributing to a tip pool are paid the applicable minimum wage. Moreover, employers and management staff are precluded from receiving any portion of tip pools under the current regulation. The 2011 regulation has led to voluminous litigation over what constitutes a “customarily tipped employee” and has resulted in inconsistent rulings from various courts.

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California’s New Parent Leave Act (S.B. 63), which requires small business employers (20-49 employees) to provide employees with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected parental bonding leave went into effect on January 1, 2018.

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On January 18, 2018, California’s Department of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, approved a proposed regulation requiring hotel employers to maintain “an effective, written, musculoskeletal injury prevention program (MIPP) that addresses hazards specific to housekeeping.”

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In July 2016, Santa Monica enacted two minimum wage ordinances, one specific to hotel workers (the “Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance”), and the other to any employees of an employer in Santa Monica (“Minimum Wage Ordinance”).

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California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” (“AB 450”) went into effect on January 1, 2018. This Act prohibits California employers from allowing an ICE agent to search a worksite by an ICE agent without proper, legal documentation. Employers may not provide ICE agents access to employee records without a subpoena or warrant, with the exception of Form I-9’s and other documents for which the employer receives a Notice of Inspection.

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On-call employees of fast food chain Yoshinoya claim they are owed reporting time pay when they call in for a shift but are not put to work. A L.A. Superior Court judge recently ruled that the plaintiffs may pursue their claims. This putative class of kitchen and cashier “on-call” employees call two hours before their scheduled shift to find out whether they are needed to work. If they fail to call in or do not show up for work when needed, they may face discipline. Plaintiffs claim that they are entitled to reporting time pay when they call in but are not put to work, even though they are not required to physically report to work.

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The 2nd Circuit, covering Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, has revived a sex bias claim brought on behalf of Donald Zarda, a deceased skydiving instructor who was allegedly fired for telling a client he was gay. As an instructor at Altitude Express, Zarda sometimes mentioned his orientation in order to help female clients feel more comfortable when jumping, as they would be tied physically close to him during jumps. Zarda was fired after a boyfriend of one female client complained to Zarda’s boss that Zarda had inappropriately touched his girlfriend and mentioned he was gay. Zarda denied anything inappropriate and alleged that his dismissal was entirely because he said he was gay.

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In November 2017, the Ninth Circuit (covering California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, Arizona, Montana) decided that the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) hourly minimum wage requirement applies to weekly per-hour averages rather than actual per-hour pay. This means that the appropriate way to determine minimum wage compliance under the FLSA during any workweek is by calculating the pay earned during the entire workweek, rather than the pay earned in each individual hour of the workweek.

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On Aril 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor announced amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) § 3(m).

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The Trump administration has been ordered to accept new applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) benefits.

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Stokes Wagner recommends that you review and update your employee handbooks annually. This article contains a list of policies and procedures for you to consider adding in your respective employee handbooks.

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Prior to 2018, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) had applied a rigid six-part test to determine whether interns must be treated as employees or unpaid interns. However, on January 5, 2018, the DOL announced that, in an effort to eliminate confusion and align itself with recent case law, it would adopt the “Primary Beneficiary” test to determine whether interns are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

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Starting January 1, 2018, nearly all private employees in New York State will be eligible for Paid Family Leave so the employee can (1) bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child; (2) care for a family member with a serious health condition; or (3) assist loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military duty. Paid Family Leave will phase in over four years, starting at 8 weeks in 2018 and increasing to 12 weeks by 2021.

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To better protect hotel workers against sexual harassment and assault, Chicago passed the “Hands Off Pants On” Ordinance. The Ordinance requires Hotels in the City of Chicago to adopt (1) a “panic button” system and (2) anti-sexual harassment policy.

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An amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law, effective October 31, 2017, prohibits New York City employers from considering job applicants’ salary histories. Here are the details:

The Amendment Prohibits Employers From:

• Inquiring about an applicant’s salary history; or
• Relying on an applicant’s salary history when making decisions about an applicant’s salary at any time during the hiring process.

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Governor Brown, Jr., recently signed five employment bills into law that affect all California employers. The following laws are effective starting January 1, 2018.

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California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal-OSHA”) recently increased its penalties in response to Federal OSHA’s increased penalty hikes last year.

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On September 6, 2017, in Marsh v. J. Alexander’s, LLC, the Ninth Circuit refused deference to the United States Department of Labor’s (the “DOL”) 80/20 Rule, which interprets the “tip credit” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Ninth Circuit held that the 80/20 Rule is inconsistent with the FLSA because the Rule improperly focuses on an employee’s individual duties, rather than an employee’s distinctive dual positions.

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Effective July 19, 2017, San Francisco became the first city in California to ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. This is the latest in a nationwide movement to promote gender pay equality. As cited in the San Francisco Ordinance, census data shows that women in San Francisco are paid 84 cents for every dollar a man makes, and women of color are paid even less. The ban seeks to stop the “problematic practice” of relying on past salaries to set new employees’ pay rates, which perpetuates the historic gender pay gap.

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Starting January 1, 2018, San Francisco requires employers to ensure that any space offered for lactation also includes a place to sit, a surface on which to place a breast pump and/or other personal items, access to electricity, and a nearby refrigerator in which the employee can store expressed milk. An employee’s lactation break time may be unpaid if it is not taken within or during an already-specified paid break. The Ordinance strictly prohibits retaliation against anyone who requests lactation accommodation or files a complaint with San Francisco’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (“OLSE”).

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Employees who sue for unpaid wages can either file (1) a civil lawsuit or (2) a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (“DLSE”). An employee who files a wage claim with the DLSE may participate in a settlement conference with his/her employer. If the case does not settle, the DLSE will set the case to an administrative hearing, known as a “Berman Hearing”. Berman Hearings are mini, informal trials with a Labor Commissioner. Berman Hearings, compared to civil lawsuits, are designed to provide a speedy, informal, and affordable method for employees and employers to resolve wage claims.

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Ever wonder if you can recover litigation costs in employment cases? On August 15, 2017, in Sviridov v. City of San Diego, the court made it clearer for employers.

Two years ago, in Williams v. Chino Valley Independent Fire Dist., the Supreme Court explained that prevailing employers in employment cases can generally only recover costs if the employee’s action was objectively without foundation – an extraordinarily high standard. However, Williams was not asked to consider and did not answer the question of whether costs may properly be awarded in a FEHA action pursuant to a Section 998 offer. That issue was before the court in Sviridov.

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For the first time ever, the California Labor Commissioner fined a general contractor nearly $250,000 for wage and hour violations committed by its subcontractor, who had been hired for a hotel construction project in Southern California. This decision is significant for businesses that use subcontractors.

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As we wrote in our June update, the Obama administration raised the minimum salary requirement for major “white collar” exemptions from $455/week to $913/week. In July 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) filed its long-awaited reply brief with the 5th Circuit regarding the new minimum requirements. The DOL did not seek to reinstate the Obama’s minimum salary level. The DOL did, however, ask the Court to find that the DOL has authority to set a salary test.

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In Stragapede v. City of Evanston, Illinois, the Seventh Circuit upheld the nearly $580,000 jury verdict in favor of the former City employee. Stragapede, a 14-year veteran of the City’s Department of Water Services, suffered a traumatic brain injury at home in 2009.

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In a recent newsletter, we reported that the United States Supreme Court would decide the hotly contested issue of whether class waivers are valid in arbitration agreements sometime this year.

The Court recently announced that it would hear oral argument on the issue on October 2, 2017. Stokes Wagner will keep you informed as things progress with this hot issue.

For more legal updates, check out our update for September 2017!

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced an intent to rescind the notorious 2011 Federal Tip-Pooling Rule, which currently prevents service-industry employers from allowing front-of-house servers to share tips with back-of-house employees (i.e., cooks and dishwashers). Under the 2011 regulation, tip-pools must only include front of house staff. Given the prevalence of tip-pooling in the service industry, the 2011 rule has been the subject of numerous legal challenges, including two petitions that are currently pending before the United States Supreme Court.

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On July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released a revised Form I-9.

While the revised form does not change storage and retention rules, it does include subtle changes to the form’s instructions. For instance, the instructions to Section 1 have been revised to remove “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.” Also, the form introduces a new name for the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices: The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

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The City of New York enacted several bills affecting fast-food employers, effective November 26, 2017.

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On August 5, 2017, the New York City Commission on Human Rights published final regulations which expand on and clarify the already burdensome requirements of the Fair Chance Act (“FCA”). These newly released regulations will make background checks particularly difficult for national employers and/or employers with a consolidated hiring process in multiple states.

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Employers in Massachusetts may not terminate employees who use medical marijuana in accordance with a prescription according to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC. Barbuto, a former Advantage employee, disclosed her medical marijuana usage at the time of her hire. Ms. Barbuto worked for only one day before she was terminated for failing the company’s mandatory drug test. The company’s drug policies followed the federal drug schedule, not local Massachusetts law. The court found for Ms. Barbuto by stating that, in terminating her employment, the company illegally discriminated against her.

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Massachusetts recently passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which protects women from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and expressing milk. Effective April 1, 2018, it is unlawful for an employer to deny reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions upon request unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

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Local 25 Teamsters (Union) were recently acquitted of charges of conspiracy to extort and attempted extortion. In June 2014, the Teamsters allegedly slashed tires, used sexist and racist slurs, and threatened to “bash” celebrity host Padma Lakshmi’s “pretty little face in.”

Federal prosecutors accused the Union members of trying to shut down the filming if the show did not hire Teamsters to drive production vehicles. The prosecutors specifically had to prove that the Teamsters’ labor objectives, however egregious their actions, were illegitimate.

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Effective 3/13/2017, San Jose employers must offer additional hours of work to current part-time employees before agreeing to hire additional, outside workers. These current part-time employees must in “good faith and reasonable judgment” have the necessary skills and experience to perform the work. Employers are not required, however, to offer hours to part-time employees if doing so would require overtime pay.

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