Insights

Featured Insights

Payne & Fears provides high quality legal and business insights, and we are committed to delivering practical and timely updates for a diverse range of issues, businesses and industries.

Labor and Employment Law
Feb 03 | Labor and Employment Law
Feb 03
OSHA Issues Guidance On Mitigating, Preventing Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace
By: Amy R. Patton, Blake A. Dillion
On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued new employer guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance is intended to help employers and workers outside the healthcare setting to identify risks of being exposed to and of contracting COVID-19 and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. While this guidance is largely duplicative of prior OSHA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) guidance and recommendations, it contains a few new and updated recommendations that employers should note.
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Insurance Coverage
2020 | Insurance Coverage
2020
Ninth Circuit Rejects Excess Insurer's Attempt to Dispute Exhaustion of Underlying Insurance
By: J. Kelby Van Patten, Jared De Jong
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 second-guess an underlying insurer’s decision to pay a claim? Prior to AXIS Reinsurance, there had been no California or the Ninth Circuit case discussing an excess insurer’s right to make a covered-claims challenge to the exhaustion of underlying insurance, even though policyholders frequently encounter such arguments.
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Business Litigation
2020 | Business Litigation
2020
Changing Your Terms and Conditions? If So, Your Company Must Provide Express Notice to Consumers
By: David A. Grant
The Ninth Circuit recently reminded companies that they must provide notice to consumers when they change their terms and conditions, even where original terms state that they are subject to change at-will and at any time (i.e. the original contract contains a “change-of-terms” provision). Without express notice to the consumer, any change is unenforceable.
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Legal Alert, Business Litigation
Jul 26 | Legal Alert, Business Litigation
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jul 26
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER MARKETING: CRITICAL ISSUES
By: Philip K. Lem
The NCAA’s recent announcement that college athletes may sell the rights to their names, images and likenesses has created an opportunity for businesses to sign influential college athletes and leverage their considerable social media footprints. Now is an opportune time for any company that contracts with social media influencers to re-examine regulations governing social media endorsements.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
Jul 15 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jul 15
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HOLDS THAT MEAL AND REST PERIOD PREMIUMS MUST BE PAID AT THE “REGULAR RATE OF PAY”
By: Amy R. Patton, Tyler B. Runge
Reversing a court of appeal decision that had been welcome news for employers, the California Supreme Court held today in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, S259172, that the term “regular rate of compensation,” used for calculating meal and rest break premium payments, is synonymous with the term “regular rate of pay,” used for calculating overtime premium payments.
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Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
Jul 09 | Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
A man sitting at a desk writing with a pen and paper.
Jul 09
KEY CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW CASES: JUNE 2021
By: Matthew C. Lewis, Sharon Shaoulian, Tyler B. Runge
June's cases include pay rate calculation and labor contract disputes, as well as a ruling on the constitutionality of a California labor regulation.
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Legal Alert, Business Litigation
Jul 08 | Legal Alert, Business Litigation
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jul 08
A Small Business Guide to Proposition 65
By: David A. Grant
Small businesses operating both inside and outside of California may be unaware of Proposition 65 and its implications for their companies. Often a business first becomes aware of Proposition 65 when it receives a Proposition 65 notice threatening legal action and substantial penalties. A company unfamiliar with Proposition 65 or unaccustomed to litigation may find this unnerving. It may be asking what is this? And what should we do? The short answers are: 1) don’t panic; and 2) get in touch with a California Proposition 65 lawyer as soon as you receive the notice.
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Legal Alert, Business Litigation
Jul 01 | Legal Alert, Business Litigation
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jul 01
Five Policies to Help Avoid “Unforced Errors” By New Hires That May Lead To A Trade Secrets Misappropriation Claim
By: Benjamin A. Nix
Company new hires sometimes commit “unforced errors” when departing one company and joining another, leading to trade secrets disputes with the prior employer that could have been prevented by following basic rules and guidelines on departure.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
Jun 18 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jun 18
Cal/OSHA Approves COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards; Executive Order Makes Them Effective Immediately
By: Leila S. Narvid
On June 17, 2021, California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board passed amended COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order to make the amended ETS effective as soon as filed with the Secretary of State. The Office of Administrative Law filed them, and the Secretary of State posted them, making the ETS effective immediately. These changes attempt to bring the ETS in alignment with recent changes to California Department of Public Health Order and the latest guidance from the Center for Disease Control.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
Jun 14 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jun 14
Cal/OSHA Publishes Latest Revised Proposal for COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards
By: Leila S. Narvid
On June 11, 2021, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Standards Board) published its latest set of proposed revisions to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (Revised ETS). The Standards Board will vote on the Revised ETS at its June 17 Standards Board meeting. The proposed regulation will then be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for approval. Once approved, the Revised ETS will take effect for California employers no later than June 28.
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Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
Jun 09 | Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
A man sitting at a desk writing with a pen and paper.
Jun 09
Key California Employment Law Cases: MAY 2021
By: Alejandro G. Ruiz, Roza C. Rosner, Tyler B. Runge
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
Jun 07 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
Jun 07
CAL/OSHA Changes COVID-19 ETS: What You Need to Know
By: Leila S. Narvid, Rana Ayazi
On June 3, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) voted to approve Cal/OSHA’s proposed revised Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Upon Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approval, employers will be able to relax some of the measures required under the current ETS. But employers still will have to enforce several requirements, including mask wearing for vaccinated individuals, that stray from the current relaxed measures recommended by the CDC and the state of California’s plans to end most mask and social distancing requirements for vaccinated individuals on June 15, 2021.
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