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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, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
Late Summer Legislative Update
By: Blake A. Dillion, Leila S. Narvid, Matthew C. Lewis
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 or allow them to become law without his signature.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
NEW DOL GUIDANCE: Remote and Hybrid Schooling and FFCRA Eligibility
By: Amy R. Patton, Rana Ayazi
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 has three additional questions (98 – 100) addressing hybrid and remote schooling. The questions are summarized in this article.
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Article, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Article, Labor and Employment Law
A table with a green plant, coffee cup, and a stack of print publications.
2020
The EEOC Releases Guidance on Legal Opioid Use and Reasonable Accommodations
By: James R. Moss, Jr., Leilani E. Jones
Earlier this month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released two new documents addressing concerns about the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and opioid use. Employers need to be aware of how to handle employee requests to accommodate both physical and mental health issues stemming from current or past opioid use, as well as how to verify legal use.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
California Court of Appeal Reins in PAGA Abuse – Addressing Serial PAGA Lawsuits and Standing for Former Employees
By: Amy R. Patton
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. Labor Code § 2699, et seq. cannot be duplicated once another PAGA matter covering the same set of facts, the same employer, and during the same time frame is resolved, and claim preclusion deprives a former employee of standing to bring claims arising exclusively after he was employed.
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Legal Alert, Business Litigation
2020 | Legal Alert, Business Litigation
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
Economic Tort of Tortious Interference With At-Will Contractual Relations Requires Allegation of Independent Wrongful Act
By: Blake A. Dillion, David A. Grant
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 contract by a third party, the plaintiff must allege that the defendant engaged in an independently wrongful act, and (2) whether contractual restraints on business-to-business contracts are invalid depends on whether the restraint is reasonable.
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Legal Alert, Insurance Coverage
2020 | Legal Alert, Insurance Coverage
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
Nevada Businesses Protected from Civil Liability for COVID-19: What Companies Need to Know
By: Sarah J. Odia
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. However, failing to comply with such standards may result in personal injury liability, fines, and business license suspensions.
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Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Legal Alert, Labor and Employment Law
A businessman standing in the window of a high-rise building reading urgent business documents.
2020
NLRB Enforces Strict Requirements for Savings Clauses in Employee Arbitration Agreements
By: Jeffrey K. Brown, Tyler B. Runge
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 applies to union and non-union employers alike.
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Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
2020 | Case Summary, Labor and Employment Law
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2020
Key California Employment Law Cases: July 2020
By: Alejandro G. Ruiz, Blake A. Dillion, Tyler B. Runge
This month's key employment law cases involve ministerial exception, arbitration agreements, and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
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Article, Business Litigation
2020 | Article, Business Litigation
A table with a green plant, coffee cup, and a stack of print publications.
2020
Potential Perils and Pitfalls of Construction Indemnification
By: David A. Grant
Freedom of contract is broad. Parties have many options when divvying up rights and duties pursuant to a written contract. Remedies can be limited; damages can be liquidated. One option is an indemnity provision. Everyone knows what that entails, right?
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