The Fair Employment and Housing Act (the FEHA) provides employees with legal protection from harassment, discrimination and retaliation. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is the California agency that oversees and enforces the FEHA. As part of its oversight role, DFEH issues guidance to employers to assist in compliance with the FEHA requirements.

On February 9, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 114[1] into law. The law reauthorizes COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (“SPSL”), providing paid leave entitlements to employees who are unable to work or telework due to a number of qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. The law becomes effective on February 19, 2022 and

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 (“AB 45”) into law on October 6, 2021.  AB 45 is landmark legislation for the Cannabidiol (“CBD”) and hemp infused product industry in California.  CBD and hemp infused products became widely available across the country following the federal government’s adoption of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.  Recreational

On January 27, 2022, the California Supreme Court unanimously decided that the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting analysis that is widely used to determine whether an employment discrimination or retaliation case should be dismissed before trial does not apply to whistleblower retaliation claims brought under California Labor Code section 1102.5. As a result, employers will face a

In light of the current surge in COVID-19 cases, it is important that employers understand their obligations in the event that there is a COVID-19 outbreak at one of their workplaces.

This blog post is intended to provide an overview of the various statutory and regulatory obligations that employers have during an outbreak so that

The start of the New Year brought with it a new wave of labor and employment legislation that employers should note, including changes to many existing laws. In this blog we’ve summarized a few key new changes that went into effect on January 1, 2022.

1. SB 3: Minimum Wage Increase

The final step increase

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first began, it has had a multitude of evolving impacts on the operation of the workplace.  One impact is the increased number of requests employers are receiving from employees for reasonable accommodations.  These increases are attributed to various factors, which have evolved as the pandemic has progressed.  At the outset of