Labor & Employment Law Blog

With eight days remaining before major provisions of California’s sick leave law become effective, the California Legislature continues to tinker with clean up legislation.  On June 22, 2015 the California Assembly amended and passed Assembly Bill 304 (Gonzalez) (“AB-304”), by a vote of 69-0.  AB-304 now goes to the California Senate for consideration.

As discussed during our recent Breakfast Briefings on the sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, we have been tracking various bills at the California Legislature regarding sick leave.  Following is the latest on each of these bills:

The City of Emeryville, California has followed in the steps of San Francisco, San Diego, and Oakland by enacting a city ordinance that expands an employee’s entitlement to paid sick leave as provided under California’s Assembly Bill 1522, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2014.  Indeed, the stated purpose of Emeryville’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance is to “provide Paid Sick Leave beyond

In a 12 to one vote on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that will incrementally increase Los Angeles’ minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2020.  Los Angeles joins San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and San Jose as California cities which have recently enacted minimum wage hikes.  Los Angeles is now the largest city in the United States with a plan to increase its ...

On April 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that lower courts have authority to review whether the EEOC fulfilled its duty to attempt conciliation (typically through mediation with the parties) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In that review, courts should narrowly consider whether the EEOC gave the employer notice and an opportunity to achieve voluntary compliance with Title ...

On February 23, 2015 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced it will revise regulations defining spouse under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to recognize same-sex marriages regardless of state of residence.  These changes will take effect on March 27, 2015.

The change comes in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor issued on June 26, 2013.  In a ...

On January 21, 2015, the California Court of Appeal held that the City of Santa Monica (the “City”) did not fail to reasonably accommodate an employee, Tony Nealy, where Nealy was unable to perform the essential functions of the job and there were no alternate positions for which Nealy was qualified.  Nealy v. City of Santa Monica, (California Ct App 02/13/2015).  The court also found that the City did not have ...

In January, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (the “DLSE”) issued a second set of "Frequently Asked Questions" regarding the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, California’s new paid sick leave law (AB 1522).  The DLSE issued the following clarifications:

The California Labor Commissioner has posted Spanish and Vietnamese template sick leave posters and updated Labor Code Section 2810.5 notices pursuant to the new sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Family Act of 2014.

The California Labor Commissioner has posted a template sick leave poster and an updated Labor Code Section 2810.5 notice pursuant to the new sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Family Act of 2014. See AALRR Alert -  Governor Signs Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014: Paid Sick Days To Be Provided To Nearly All California Employees Effective July 1, 2015.