I can hear the questions already, just five new laws taking effect on January 1, 2016? No, there are many more, as I have previously written about, but here are five additional new laws employers need to understand going into 2016.
1. Family members of whistleblower are granted protections and some employers are excluded
The recent settlement creating a $228 million fund by Federal Express in a multistate class action brought in 2005 alleging that drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. However, the parties are encountering some reluctance from the court in obtaining court approval of the settled. This case is a good example that entering into a settlement
California passed a new law in October 2015 that provides employers some potential 
protection against penalties imposed by the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA). Employers need to understand the intricacies of PAGA, and the importance of seeking legal counsel immediately upon receiving a copy of the letter a plaintiff must send to the
Today, October 6, 2015, Governor Brown signed into the law Senate Bill 358, directed at ensuring equal pay across genders. While it was illegal to pay employees different wages based upon their gender or race already under California law, the new law expands the protection to workers who do “substantially similar” work. The bill
This week, a federal court in northern California certified portions of a class action 
brought by Uber drivers who worked in California since 2009 (click here for the decision [PDF]). Over 160,000 drivers have worked for Uber in California during this time period, and while the case is making a lot of news,
This Friday’s Five covers five employment law developments that occurred in August 2015 that will have an impact for employers in California.
1) NLRB ruling widens which companies may be considered “joint employers”
In a 3-2 decision, the NLRB ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. was a joint employer with a staffing agency, Leadpoint
This Friday’s Five discusses five issues California employers should remember about whether they may require credit checks from applicants or employees. And if employers can obtain the information, what additional considerations they should take into account when using this information for employment decisions and privacy concerns.
1. Credit checks are different than background checks.
Since
Speaking with some clients, I sense their overwhelming confusion in setting up employment policies in California. While it can be a daunting task, I remind them that the key is to approach it in a systematic process, and once the system is in place, compliance can be very easy. While there are many issues employers
Even though employers allow employees to watch TV, surf the Internet, or even sleep, depending on the circumstances such on-call time, even if the employee is not doing any work, still may be required to be paid by the employer. It has been clear since the 1940’s that employers have the obligation to pay employees
In July 2015, the Department of Labor proposed regulations that would increase the salary amount employers would need to pay for employees to qualify as exempt. If adopted, the proposal would require that employees would have to earn at least $50,440 per year in order to qualify for most exemptions in 2016. This episode