Sanchez v. Martinez, No. C083268, 2020 WL 5494239 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 11, 2020) Summary: Piece-rate employees who are provided with unpaid rest breaks are entitled to damages in the amount of the minimum wage for actual...
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September 21, 2020
Three New California Bills Greatly Expand Employers’ Obligations Regarding COVID-19 and Employee Leave
On September 17, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills (SB 1159, AB 685, and SB 1383) expanding workers’ protections in relation to COVID-19 exposure in the workplace, and expanding the California Family Rights Act....
Robinson v. Southern Counties Oil Co, 53 Cal. App. 5th 476 (2020) Summary: Res judicata bars a PAGA claim when the employer has already settled a separate PAGA claim covering the same claims and time period. An employee does...
September 15, 2020
Ninth Circuit Rejects Excess Insurer’s Attempt to Dispute Exhaustion of Underlying Insurance
This week, in AXIS Reinsurance Co. v. Northrop Grumman Corp., ____ F.3d ____, 2020 WL 5509743 (9th Cir. Sept. 14, 2020), the Ninth Circuit addressed an important question of first impression: When can an excess insurer...
September 10, 2020
Governor Signs Into Law Immediate Changes to Paid Sick Leave Requirements and AB5 Exemptions
The majority of the employment-related bills that Governor Newsom will sign this year will not take effect until January 2021 or later. But Governor Newsom signed two significant, employment-related “trailer bills” this...
On August 31, 2020, California’s legislative session closed with a flurry of bills—the majority driven by COVID-19. These bills have been sent to the governor, who now has until the end of September to sign them into law...
On August 27, 2020, the Department of Labor updated its Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers to address eligibility for FFCRA benefits in light of the complexity school program offerings. The FAQ now...
August 14, 2020
California Court of Appeal Reins in PAGA Abuse – Addressing Serial PAGA Lawsuits and Standing for Former Employees
In Robinson v. Southern Counties Oil Co., 2020 WL 4696742 (certified for publication Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 13, 2020), the California Court of Appeal held that an action under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), Cal....
August 13, 2020
Nevada Businesses Protected from Civil Liability for COVID-19: What Companies Need to Know
Using a carrot-and-stick approach, Nevada’s new law limits civil liability for personal injury or death resulting from COVID-19 for most businesses in exchange for compliance with controlling COVID-19 health standards....
August 10, 2020
NLRB Enforces Strict Requirements for Savings Clauses in Employee Arbitration Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has recently issued a half-dozen decisions addressing the lawfulness of employee arbitration agreements. Employers should not ignore this body of law, which...
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S. Ct. 2049 (2020) Summary: The ministerial exception, grounded in First Amendment’s religion clauses, barred teachers’ employment discrimination claims where teachers...
August 6, 2020
Economic Tort of Tortious Interference With At-Will Contractual Relations Requires Allegation of Independent Wrongful Act
In Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., S256927, 2020 WL 4432623 (Cal. Aug. 3, 2020) (“Ixchel Pharma”), the Supreme Court of California clarified two points: (1) that to state a claim for interference with an at-will...