In a recent presentation at the SHRM Northern California 2024 Annual Conference, Weintraub shareholder Ryan Abernethy outlined significant updates in California employment law for employers to be aware of. The session addressed employment-related legal updates that recently took effect, including workplace violence prevention requirements, new indoor heat exposure regulations, and expansions in harassment and retaliation laws, as well as pending legislation that could have a crucial impact on employers. Recent changes to the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) are not addressed herein but can be found here in one of our episodes of California Employment News.Continue Reading Legal Updates and Trends in Employment Law: Key Insights
California Employment News: Understanding the FTC Non-Compete Ban Key Insights for Employers
The FTC’s new rule banning non-compete clauses will take effect on September 4th and impact all workers, including contractors and interns. Weintraub attorneys Jacqueline Simonovich and Shauna Correia discuss the pending legal challenges and how the outcome could reach the Supreme Court in the latest installment of “California Employment News.”Continue Reading California Employment News: Understanding the FTC Non-Compete Ban Key Insights for Employers
The CA Legislature Passes Another Law Requiring that Employers Advise Employees that They Have the Right to Seek Legal Counsel
In recent years, California employers have seen legislation requiring that they advise their employees in certain situations about their right to consult with legal counsel. For example, in 2021 Senate Bill 331 (“Silenced No More Act”) amended section 1001 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, as well as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) to require, among other things, that a severance and release agreement contain a provision notifying the employee or former employee that they have the right to consult an attorney regarding the agreement. This notification under California law is separate and apart from the requirements under the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (as part of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act) which also provides for such notice for employees over the age of 40.Continue Reading The CA Legislature Passes Another Law Requiring that Employers Advise Employees that They Have the Right to Seek Legal Counsel
California Employment News: Summer is Coming – is Your Worksite Ready for the Heat? (ARCHIVE)
As temperatures rise, California law requires employers with outdoor employees to take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Shauna Correia reviews Cal/OSHA’s ‘Heat Illness Prevention Standards” for outdoor worksites in this archive episode of California Employment News.Continue Reading California Employment News: Summer is Coming – is Your Worksite Ready for the Heat? (ARCHIVE)
California Legislature Considers Employee’s “Right to Disconnect”
In late March 2024, California Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill, AB 2751, that would recognize a right for employees in California to “disconnect” or ignore communications from their employer during certain non-work hours. The Bill, in its current form, requires an employer to establish a workplace policy that will allow employees “the right to disconnect” from communications from their employer during non-working hours, except for emergencies and/or scheduling purposes. The policy must define working vs. non-working hours and make clear that employees have the right to ignore communications from the employer during the policy’s specified non-working hours. The proposed law also provides employees the right to file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner if the employer engages in a pattern of violations of this new law. Finally, the proposed new law states that while violations may not be punished as a misdemeanor, the employer could be subject to a fine of not less than $100 as a result of a pattern of violation of the proposed new law.Continue Reading California Legislature Considers Employee’s “Right to Disconnect”