Many employers, with 100 or more employees, were preparing to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination or testing policy consistent with the Biden administration’s proposed rule. The proposed regulation was to be enforced by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). However, employers received relief from the administrative burden of enforcing the rule. On January 13,…
On September 22, 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 701 into law. Aimed at the use of quotas in distribution centers, AB 701 will go into effect on January 1, 2022. The new law, which was originally drafted to curtail the practices of Amazon, may potentially apply to many employers across a range of industries involved with…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court who previously ruled that AB 51 was an unlawful restriction on arbitration agreements. The 9th Circuit’s ruling means that – at least for now – AB 51 remains the law in California. Last year, California Assembly Bill 51 was enacted, adding a section to…
It looks as if the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) will be getting approximately $7.5 billion “to boost worker protection efforts”. However, worker protection efforts will now include looking into misclassification by employers as either employees and/or independent contractors. So, in other words, the DOL will no longer limit its scope to making sure workers…
Since the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19, there has been a trend on the federal, state, and local levels to encourage and mandate vaccinations. As such, employers should anticipate having to implement their own vaccine mandate in the very near future. California has already begun implementing vaccine mandates on large sectors of health…
The Supreme Court of California upends the standard practice of employers paying one hour of additional wages to employees as a penalty for noncompliant meal, rest, and recovery periods in a recent decision. On July 15, 2021, in the matter of Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the Court held that the additional hour of…
We previously covered the COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) that the California Division of Occupation Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) released back in November of 2020. Now we have an update for you that we hope helps RPNA’s clients. As of June 17, 2021, Cal/OSHA approved revisions to the ETS that reflect the current health…
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…
Since our previous article (which can be found here) about the pros and cons of employers implementing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has issued further guidance pertaining to vaccine policies and COVID-19 related issues in the workplace. The DFEH advised that an employer may require its employees…
Senate Bill 95’s supplemental COVID paid sick leave requirement goes into effect as of today. The new law mandates that employers provide employees with supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-related leave in addition to other paid time off obligations under existing federal, state, or local statutes. The obligation to provide paid COVID related sick leave…