Templates

Surveys consistently show more than half of employers already maintain employment arbitration programs. Many employers find such programs help manage the risks and costs of employment disputes and allow parties to resolve employment-related claims more quickly than in traditional litigation. Significantly, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled class and collective action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are enforceable.

Our template Mutual Arbitration Agreement is the product of the firm’s extensive experience in drafting, implementing, and enforcing arbitration programs. It includes a class action waiver, a mass arbitration protocol, and other valuable terms based on recent court rulings. The template generally can be used in all 50 states with little to no customization, depending on an employer’s workforce, locations, and preferences.

The Arbitration Package includes: (1) a template Mutual Arbitration Agreement, developed from hundreds of hours of legal analysis, and (2) comprehensive FAQs explaining the template, relevant legal issues, and best practices for implementing the document and responding to employees’ questions.

Ensuring compliance with California’s strict and complex meal and rest break rules is a significant challenge for employers with operations in California. Recently, the Supreme Court of California held that premium pay for missed meal and rest periods constitutes “wages” under California labor law and that employers may be held liable for failing to properly report and timely pay these wages. This ruling marks the third decision from the California Supreme Court in a 14-month period that increases employer liability for violations related to meal and rest breaks.

To mitigate risks, employers should implement written policies, provide regular training, and conduct audits of meal and rest break practices and timekeeping records. An effective strategy is to establish an “attestation” system, allowing employees to regularly confirm that they received compliant break opportunities. This can create an essential record of compliance, potentially helping to prevent or even potentially defeat class and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions alleging break violations.

To assist California employers in understanding and managing break requirements and related litigation risks, our attorneys developed a California Break Book Package. The package includes a comprehensive meal and rest break policy with accompanying acknowledgment, waiver, and revocation forms as well as a PowerPoint presentation that employers can use to train employees on the timekeeping policy, the meal and rest break policies, and the attestation process.

On June 20, 2024, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted California Code of Regulations, Title 8 CCR § 3396, which addresses Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment. The regulation applies to indoor workplaces when the temperature reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and employees are present.

California employers are required to establish a written heat illness prevention plan that includes, among other things, an assessment of heat illness risks, access to water, access to cool-down areas, mandated cool-down rest breaks, and procedures for emergencies. Additional requirements are triggered when the temperature reaches 87 degrees Fahrenheit. This standard went into effect on July 23, 2024.

To assist impacted employers, members of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group have developed a California Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Plan Template Package. The package includes a model California indoor heat illness prevention plan, a training presentation, a hazard assessment form, a notice to employees, and an overview for stakeholders.

On September 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 1383, which repealed the previous California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and eliminated the California New Parent Leave Act. This legislation introduced a new CFRA, which can be found at California Government Code Section 12945.2, et seq.

AB 1041 amended Government Code 12945.2 (CFRA) and Labor Code 245.5 (California Paid Sick Leave) to include “designated person” in the definition of a “family member.” This allows employees to take protected leave for the designated person.

AB 1949 added section 12945.7 to the Government Code, requiring employers to grant an eligible employee up to five days of unpaid bereavement leave upon the death of a family member. The law defines “family member” as a “spouse or a child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law.”

To help California employers comply with these obligations, our California attorneys have developed customizable templates that address leaves of absence under the CFRA, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL).

On September 30, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 553, which requires virtually every California employer to implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan with very specific requirements and procedures. The new requirements went into effect on July 1, 2024.

To assist impacted employers, members of our Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group have developed a California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Template Package. The package includes plan language, training materials, and other resources (notice, assessment form, incident log, etc.).

The New York Retail Worker Safety Act went into effect on June 2, 2025. The new law applies to retail employers with at least ten employees and requires, among other things, assessments of potential workplace violence hazards, adoption of written workplace violence prevention policies, and workplace violence prevention training.

To assist impacted employers, our Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group has developed a template package that includes a customizable and comprehensive workplace violence prevention policy, training deck, hazard assessment form, model notice, and overview.