On September 28, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA) into law, effective January 1, 2025. This law enhances protections for freelance independent contractors, requiring businesses to obtain written contracts for specified professional services, and requiring that such freelance workers are timely paid. Here are some key elements of the…
A new California law which became effective in March 2024 has made California employers scramble to implement effective privacy protection policies for their employees. The new law, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), imposes the requirements of existing privacy rights law to personal data that employers obtain from their employees, leaving many of them asking…
As most employers in California are aware, in June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (“Viking River”) that Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) actions could be split into individual and non-individual claims and the individual claims could be subject to arbitration. The Court expressed its view that…
Author: Joseph C. Gjonola Recently, the California Supreme Court accepted a Petition for Review filed by RPNA on behalf of our extraordinary client SANTA YNEZ BAND OF CHUMASH MISSION INDIANS, in their lawsuit against Lexington Insurance Company for business injury coverage triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of extensive documentary and expert…
Author: Burton E. Falk Last week the California Supreme Court made a pivotal ruling that could have significant implications for your responsibilities as employers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Court clarified that employers do not owe a tort-based duty to non-employees to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to family members under workers’ compensation laws.…
By Trevor Witt An upcoming ballot measure could significantly affect your business and provide some much needed relief from costly and frivolous lawsuits for employers. The November 2024 ballot will contain a measure titled “Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act,” which proposes to repeal the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) in California. PAGA was initially…
What’s new? The new law covers legal entities of a certain size (see below) that do business in California and collect personal information of consumers. A consumer is defined as a California resident and therefore includes employees. · Businesses must provide a “notice at collection”. At the time of collecting the personal…
Courts deal yet another blow to the enforcement of employment-related arbitration agreements and class-action waivers in what is looking to be a growing trend. In Rittmann v. Amazon.com, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that local Amazon delivery drivers were not subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The FAA was…
In these uncertain times, businesses are being forced to consider drastic measures to weather the current economic crisis, including potential reductions in the workforce. However, businesses need to be aware of their obligations under both the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act prior to implementing any mass layoff, relocation, or termination…
Support for AB 5 and its “ABC test” aimed at classifying more workers as employees rather than independent contractors appears to be growing due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The federal, state and local government restriction on businesses and mobility have vastly limited the availability of work. Independent contractors, who are not entitled to unemployment benefits…