On June 23, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the “Back to Work” emergency ordinance. The ordinance requires certain San Francisco employers to offer reemployment to covered employees who were subjected to qualifying layoffs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 19, 2020, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a COVID-19 Paid Supplemental Sick Leave Ordinance. This ordinance, which goes into effect immediately, follows similar measures enacted by Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.
On June 18, 2020, the California Department of Public Health issued a statewide “Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.” Although the guidance is not an executive order and does not refer to any authorizing legal authority, Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted, “NEW: Californians are now REQUIRED to wear face coverings in public spaces” (Emphasis in the original.)
On May 12, 2020, the City of Oakland, California, unanimously passed an emergency paid sick leave ordinance requiring employers to provide up to 80 hours of additional paid sick leave for COVID-19 related issues.
On May 4, 2020, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed two new ordinances governing employee right of recall and worker retention in the City of Los Angeles. The ordinances provide certain rights and preferences to various workers whose employment has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued instructions, statements, and guidance to help employers navigate COVID-19’s workplace impact. On May 5, 2020, the EEOC issued an update to its Technical Assistance Guidance on Disability Accommodation to address questions regarding employees at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
On April 28, 2020, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an interim urgency ordinance requiring employers with 500 or more employees to provide supplemental paid leave for COVID-19-related reasons. This follows similar measures taken over recent weeks in other local jurisdictions, such as San Francisco.
On April 17, 2020, Mayor London Breed signed the San Francisco Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (PHELO). The San Francisco Board of Supervisors had passed the ordinance earlier in the week. Like similar ordinances adopted in Los Angeles and San José, San Francisco’s ordinance supplements the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and requires employers with 500 or more employees to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave to employees in both the city and county of San Francisco.
On October 1, 2018, San Francisco’s amendments to its Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO) took effect. The FCO is San Francisco’s “ban the box” equivalent that regulates employers’ use of applicants’ and employees’ arrest and conviction information.
Once again, Governor Jerry Brown ends the legislative year by signing a flurry of employment-related legislation. This year, however, is Governor Brown’s last year to do so, and next year we will report about the employment-related legislation that the new governor (whoever that is) undoubtedly will have signed.
California’s pay equity law has been amended to clarify certain ambiguities regarding proper interview questions, disclosure of pay scales, and the application of the law to existing employees.
On July 4, 2018, Judge John Mendez of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California preliminarily enjoined California from enforcing some provisions of Assembly Bill 450 (AB 450), known as the “Immigrant Worker Protection Act.”
On July 9, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2770 (AB 2770) into law. The new statute amends California Civil Code Section 47, which designates certain communications as “privileged,” meaning that individuals cannot be liable for defamation (including libel and slander) based on those communications.
In the days leading up the October 15 deadline, Governor Brown signed and vetoed a number of California labor and employment law bills that had recently passed by the September legislative deadline. Here is an overview on the newest laws and the bills that are gone for now.
On October 15, 2017, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 396 into law. California employers with 50 or more employees currently must provide two hours of sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years.
On June 30, 2017, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed the city’s new Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance. The ordinance will take effect January 1, 2018, and imposes lactation accommodation requirements that go beyond those that federal and California law currently impose.
On July 19, 2017, San Francisco became the latest jurisdiction to enact a law banning employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories. The San Francisco “Parity in Pay” Ordinance will become effective on July 1, 2018. The city will begin assessing penalties for noncompliance on July 1, 2019.
San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (PPLO) became effective on January 1, 2017, for employers with 50 or more employees. Effective July 1, 2017, the PPLO also applies to employers with 35 or more employees and, on January 1, 2018, to employers with 20 or more employees.
On June 1, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council finalized the City’s paid sick leave ordinance. Effective July 1, 2016, Los Angeles employers with 26 or more employees must provide employees with paid sick leave benefits, while employers with fewer than 26 employees must do so as of July 1, 2017.
On April 5, 2016, the City of San Francisco moved one step closer to imposing paid parental leave on certain employers when the city’s Board of Supervisors passed the “Paid Parental Leave Ordinance.” The Board will vote again at its next meeting and, if it passes, will send the ordinance to Mayor Ed Lee.
On March 14, 2016, the Pasadena City Council adopted an ordinance to increase the city’s minimum wage. Beginning on July 1, 2016, employers with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour to all employees who work at least 2 hours per week within the city’s geographic bounds.
In January 2016, the Santa Monica, California City Council adopted a wide-reaching ordinance that raises the city’s minimum wage for hotel workers. The ordinance also imposes paid sick leave requirements on hotel employers that exceed those of the state’s paid sick leave statute. The city established a minimum wage working group to make further recommendations on the ordinance. Absent the working group’s consensus on specific changes, the ordinance will take effect on July 1, 2016.
In January of 2016, the Santa Monica City Council adopted a wide-reaching ordinance that will raise the city’s minimum wage and impose paid sick leave requirements that exceed the state’s paid sick leave statute. The ordinance also establishes an even higher minimum wage for hotel workers. The city established a minimum wage working group to make further recommendations on the ordinance. Absent working group consensus on specific changes, the ordinance will take effect on July 1, 2016.
Mandatory sick pay is coming to California in less than 60 days. Beginning July 1, 2015, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA) will obligate employers in California to offer sick pay to nearly every category of employee.
On November 25, 2014, the City and County of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved (with one member absent) two ordinances that will affect “Formula Retail Establishments” and that proponents refer to as the “Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights.” The Board’s votes would add “Hours and Retention Protections for…..
On September 10, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014. The Act requires California employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked starting on July 1, 2015. Since the California legislature passed the law and even…..
On Saturday, August 30, 2014, in the early morning hours and amid controversy among labor supporters, the California legislature passed a bill that provides workers with three paid sick days per year. Governor Brown enthusiastically endorsed the law’s passage and is expected to sign it very shortly. Assuming the governor…..
Amended regulations governing disability discrimination, reasonable accommodation, and the interactive process under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) became effective on December 30, 2012. The regulations range from accommodations to allow “assistive animals” into the workplace to using performance reviews to help determine essential job functions. The new regulations…..
In October 2011, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) proposed amended regulations governing disability discrimination, reasonable accommodation, and the interactive process under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). After public comment and some revisions, the agency’s regulations became effective December 30, 2012. These regulations clarify an employer’s obligations to provide reasonable
In March 2012, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) proposed new and amended regulations addressing employers’ obligations and employees’ rights and responsibilities regarding pregnancy under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). After public comment and some revisions, the agency’s regulations became effective December 30, 2012. They can be found at Title
