Photo of Beth V. West

Beth is a Shareholder and Chair of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Group. She is admitted to practice law in California and Washington. She has years of experience assisting employers in all aspects of their employment relationship with their employees. Her practice focuses on counseling and training employers, HR professionals, and managers.

The long-awaited decision by the US Supreme Court in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana was issued on June 15, 2022, and brings some good news for California employers. The issue before the court was whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts a rule of California law that invalidates contractual waivers (e.g. arbitration agreements) of the right to assert representative claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
Continue Reading CA Employers: Good News from the US Supreme Court PAGA Actions May Be Subject to Arbitration After All

On May 7, 2022 (Yes, that was a Saturday), CalOSHA issued a Fact Sheet and updated Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) to align with, and explain, its revised Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) for preventing and responding to COVID-19 in the workplace.
Continue Reading CalOSHA Issues Updated FAQs for Its Revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards

For the third time, CalOSHA has revised its Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) governing workplace safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised ETS are due to take effect on May 6, 2022 once they have been reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the California Secretary of State.
Continue Reading CalOSHA’s [Revised] ETS are Here to Stay! …at Least Until the End of 2022