Labor & Employment Law Blog

On August 7, 2015, California’s Labor Commissioner issued an Opinion Letter confirming earlier guidance that employees who regularly work 10 hour shifts must be given up to 30 hours of paid sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.

California’s landmark sick leave law requires employers allow their employees to use “24 hours or three days” of sick leave each year.  ...

On July 6, 2015, the United States Department of Labor published proposed regulations that would substantially increase the minimum salary that must be paid to exempt employees under federal law to $50,440 or more.  The DOL published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register, opening a 60-day comment public comment period on the  proposed amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act ...

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 2012, Legislature enacted Labor Code section 3701.9 providing that “(a) A certificate of consent to self-insure shall not be issued after January 1, 2013, to any of the following. (1) a professional employer organization (“PEO”).  (2) A leasing employer [“LE”] …. (3) A temporary services employer [“TSE”],” and providing that “A certificate of consent to self-insure that has been ...

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 February 10, 2015, the California Court of Appeal held that Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order 5 conflicts with California Labor Code section 512(a), and that the IWC exceeded its authority by creating an additional exception for second meal period waivers for health care workers.  (Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, 2015 WL 535730 (2015)).

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 ...