By Parnian Vafaeenia and Jonathan L. Brophy

Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 14, 2023, the California legislature passed S.B. 525, which will raise minimum wages for health care workers across the state. The bill includes five separate minimum wage schedules for covered health care employees depending on the nature, size, and structure of the employer’s business. Unless Governor Newsom

Continue Reading Paging Healthcare Workers! California Legislature Passes Bill Raising Minimum Wages

By Robert B. Milligan

Seyfarth Synopsis: For employees looking to leave somewhere greener for somewhere warmer, California may now be climbing to the top of their list. On September 1, 2023, Governor Newsom signed legislation that extends California’s restrictions on non-compete agreements to contracts signed out of state, effective January 1, 2024. Specifically, SB 699 provides that any contract that is void

Continue Reading Heads Carolina, Tails California – Expanded Non-Compete Prohibitions Cross State Lines

By Kristina M. LauneyScott P. MalleryDavid Kim and Galen Sallomi 

Seyfarth Synopsis: Now that the Legislature’s September 14, 2023 deadline to pass bills to the Governor has come and gone, we are providing an overview of  which employment bills are before the Governor for consideration, including bills that impact non-compete agreements, FEHA protected categories, paid

Continue Reading Legislative Update: Nearing the End of the Road (for 2023)

By Ilana MoradyPatrick D. JoyceCoby TurnerLiz Watson and Juan Rehl-Garcia 

Seyfarth Synopsis: Two big changes are on the horizon for California employers:
(1) changes to the COVID-19 general exposure notification requirements and (2) a proposed “permanent” Cal/OSHA COVID-19 standard to take effect January 1, 2023-2025.

The fall season signals change between the

Continue Reading Changes Coming to CA COVID-19 Requirements

By Chantelle C. EganBernard OlshanskyPatrick D. Joyce, and Ilana Morady

Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 28, 2022, California’s Governor Newsom issued a press release lifting California’s mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, downgrading the former requirement to a strong recommendation, effective March 1, 2022.  The same day, the California Department of Public Health
Continue Reading California Loosens Indoor Masking Requirements for the Unvaccinated

By Coby TurnerPatrick D. JoyceIlana MoradyAdam R. Young, and Elizabeth M. Levy

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) was supposed to consider changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on May 20, 2021. But after the CDC published a May 13, 2021 guidance saying that
Continue Reading For Real Now: Cal/OSHA Board Considering Changes to COVID-19 ETS

By Matthew Graffigna and Robert E. Buch

Seyfarth Synopsis: Senate Bill 1159 was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 17, 2020, and went into effect immediately. Under the new law, if employees test positive for COVID-19 under specific circumstances, there is a rebuttable presumption that their exposure occurred at the workplace. Unless rebutted, this presumption creates a compensable
Continue Reading Workers’ Compensation Liability Is Catching In California

By Ilana R. Morady and Elizabeth M. Levy

Seyfarth Synopsis: As California’s legislative session comes to an end, a wave of new COVID-19 related laws that impact employers are being signed into law. On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed AB 685, which will require employers to provide specific notices to employees exposed to COVID-19 within one business day
Continue Reading CalPecs – COVID-19 Exposure Notification Requirements Coming To A Workplace Near You

By Scott P. Mallery

Seyfarth Synopsis: The controversy surrounding AB 5 unveiled a clear need for a new avenue of classifying so-called gig workers to combine the certainty of employee designations with the flexibility of gig jobs. What are the promises of and prospects for a hybrid classification that would provide workers with some employee benefits while also providing workers

Continue Reading GoT’s All-Seeing Three-Eyed Raven: The Gig Economy in California