Labor & Employment Law Blog

In light of the unprecedented wildfires in the Los Angeles area which commenced on January 7, 2025, the DLSE published a Frequently Asked Questions website to provide guidance to California employers on laws enforced by the Labor Commissioner’s office.

Back in February, 2024, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers (the “FCO”) was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors. The FCO became operative and subject to enforcement on September 3, 2024 and adds a variety of additional compliance obligations for covered employers and added protections for covered applicants and employees, above and beyond what existing state law requires. Covered employers must ensure that they comply with the stricter of state and local laws governing the use of criminal history in employment.

With the close of the California legislative season, there are a variety of employment law bills which will become law on January 1, 2025. Golden State employers should be aware that several of these new laws necessitate updates to employment policies and handbooks. Specifically:

Lately, Deputy Labor Commissioners have been making unannounced visits to fast food stores in Los Angeles County to conduct audits. They arrive, sometimes alone, and sometimes in pairs, and ask for the manager.  The Deputy Labor Commissioners insist on conducting the audit while they are on the premises, and they have not been amenable to requests to come back on a date and time that is more convenient.  Below, please find useful information about the types of information that will be sought by the Deputy Labor Commissioners if you are subject to such an audit.

As an update to our previous post on the Fast Food Industry Minimum Wage (A.B. 1228:  Implications for Exempt Employees in the Fast Food Industry), on March 26, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 610 which amends the definition of “fast food restaurant” to exempt restaurants in airports, hotels, theme parks, museums, event centers, and other locations from the Fast Food Council requirements, which took effect April 1, 2024.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed AB 1228, which repealed the FAST Recovery Act but established a modified version of the Fast Food Council (Council) through January 1, 2029. Importantly, the bill set forth minimum wage increases for fast food restaurant employees, with an increase to a minimum wage of $20.00 per hour for such employees effective April 1, 2024. 

Tragically, California is reeling from the effects of two mass shootings in almost as many days, each one leaving in its wake shattered lives. These devastating events are on top of what is shaping up to be an especially violent year so far, with multiple mass shootings taking place less than one month into the year.

Given the current state of the economy, many employers are considering reductions in work hours and potential layoffs.  As businesses consider taking action to save money and prevent potential closure, they must do so carefully in order to manage and reduce risk of future litigation related to its actions.  This blog discusses the appropriate steps that a business must take when conducting a reduction in force (“RIF”).

As has been widely reported, companies throughout the country are facing pandemic-related labor shortages, including because of workers’ childcare obligations, concerns about returning to in-person work, and the continuation of unemployment benefits.  Employers attempting to address this labor shortage are offering hiring bonuses, increasing wages, and improving benefits and flexibility.  It also appears they are hiring teenagers to fill these vacancies, which coincides with the general uptick in youth employment between April and July each year.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), the unemployment rate among teenagers this month stands at 12.3% and is anticipated to fall further, providing a stark contrast to teen unemployment last summer.  (In July 2020, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 18.5%, about twice as high as the year before, according to the BLS.)

On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) published new model COBRA notice forms as a result of the recent COBRA subsidy program created by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

In an effort to provide employers with more tools to make their workplace safe, the EEOC gave the green light on Thursday April 23, 2020, to test employees for COVID-19.  This announcement comes on the heels of guidance issued last week that confirmed that employers may take temperatures and make inquiries of their employees relating to symptoms of COVID-19.