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
Jan 18 | Labor and Employment Law
Jan 18
Does Your Employee Handbook Address the Latest New Laws? If Not, It May Be Time for an Upgrade
By: Amy R. Patton, Sharon Shaoulian
This past year brought new laws requiring changes to policies commonly found in California employee handbooks. To ensure compliance with current California law, employers should review and update their handbooks within these first few months of 2021.
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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, Hilary A. Williams
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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E.g., 01/27/2021
E.g., 01/27/2021
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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
United States Supreme Court Clarifies the Scope of the Ministerial Exception
By: Alejandro G. Ruiz, Raymond J. Nhan
In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. ___, 2020 WL 3808420 (2020) (“Morrissey-Berru”), the United States Supreme Court provided further guidance on the application of the “ministerial exception,” which provides religious organizations with a defense against generally applicable employment laws in the selection or retention of employees who perform certain tasks involving preaching, teaching, and counseling.
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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
Compliant Policies Help Employer Defeat Wage Claims on Summary Judgment
By: Daniel F. Fears, Raymond J. Nhan
In David v. Queen of the Valley Medical Center (QVMC), 2020 WL 3529683 (certified for publication Cal. Ct. App. June 30, 2020), the employer’s legally compliant policies were crucial in getting the California Court of Appeal to dismiss a case before trial.
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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
LA County Changes COVID-19 Guidance
By: Amy R. Patton, Rana Ayazi
Los Angeles County has been the epicenter of COVID-19 in California, and it is only getting worse. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LA Department of Public Health) recently announced that daily hospitalizations have been significantly higher than in past weeks. Accordingly, LA County released new and updated guidance to help stop the spread of COVID-19 within the workplace. The guidance includes more stringent employee screenings, requirements to report a cluster of confirmed COVID-19 cases, updates to LA County Reopening Protocols, and requirements that all employees who have regular contact with others wear a face covering or an alternative, regardless of medical conditions.
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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 Supreme Court Addresses Critical Wage and Hour Issues for Employers Involved in Interstate Transportation and with Non-Traditional Compensation Plans
By: Daniel F. Fears, Tyler B. Runge
In a pair of overlapping opinions issued today – Ward v. United Airlines, Inc. and Oman v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. – the California Supreme Court addressed a wide variety of unsettled questions in California wage-and-hour law.
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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
A Quick Compliance Checklist Before the July 1 Enforcement of the CCPA
By: David A. Grant, Leilani E. Jones, Roza C. Rosner
The window for getting up to speed on California Consumer Privacy Act requirements is rapidly closing. The state Attorney General’s final version of the regulations goes into effect on July 1. This article provides a practical checklist for your company to evaluate now.
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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
The Five-Step Protocol to Reopening a Business
By: Amy R. Patton, Rana Ayazi
Over the past few months, guidance on how to create a safer, low-risk workplace has frequently changed. Fortunately, the state of California has finally reached a point where comprehensive and concrete advice is now available.
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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
Businesses Should Review Their Websites for ADA Accessibility Due to New Court Ruling
By: Randy R. Haj, Scott O. Luskin
Yesterday, a California Court of Appeal found that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) equal access standards for public accommodations can apply to websites, at least when there is a strong enough link between the website and accessing the business’s physical location, goods, or services.
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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
Antibody Tests Cannot be Required From Employees to Return to Work; Other New COVID-19 Guidance Issued
By: Amy R. Patton, Rana Ayazi
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance guidance for employers.
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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
United States Supreme Court Holds that Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
By: Jeffrey K. Brown, Raymond J. Nhan
Today, the United States Supreme Court held that the Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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