When world economies face challenges, employment litigation claims of all types arise. In this Quick Chat video, our Labor and Employment lawyers discuss the range of trending employment-related claims and cases and share what employers can do to best position themselves to manage impending litigation.

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Review our brochure, COVID-19

In brief

The California Supreme Court recently established new law on two important topics for meal period compliance and litigation. Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC (2021) San Diego Superior Court, Case No. S253677 (February 25, 2021). First, the Court held that California employers cannot round time punches for meal periods. Second, the Court held that time records showing noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable presumption of meal period violations. The Donohue Court also implicitly approved a method for employers to use to determine whether meal period premiums should be paid for missed, short or late meal periods.Continue Reading California Rejects Meal Period Rounding

We are excited to invite you to our virtual Annual California Employer Update on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, from 1:00 – 2:15 PM PT.

“Quick Hits: California’s Top 10 & What You Need To Know In 2021” is designed to ensure that in-house counsel are up to speed on what changed in 2020 and prepared

California residents have some relief from shelter in place orders that took effect mid-March, with the state and several counties relaxing certain restrictions in early May. Despite those welcome changes, employers have much to track as they reopen businesses throughout California. A patchwork of state and local public health orders and guidelines confronts employers as

We hope you found last week’s video chat series helpful and informative. Due to popular demand, we are continuing this series of quick and bite-sized video chats, where our employment partners team up with practitioners in various areas of law to discuss the most pressing issues for employers navigating the return to work.

This series

On April 29, public health officials in six Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara) and the city of Berkeley released new health orders extending mandates to shelter in place through May 31, while relaxing restrictions around some outdoor businesses and recreation activities. The new Orders will take effect May 4, the day existing shelter-in-place mandates would have expired. (We previously discussed the local Orders here and here.)
Continue Reading Bay Area’s Shelter-In-Place Orders Modified and Extended to May 31

With special thanks to Teresa Michaud and Sara Pitt for contributing.

Revised Health Orders were handed down yesterday across the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Berkeley Counties), intended to “clarify, strengthen, and extend” the terms of the prior shelter-in-place orders. Each supersedes its prior order, and provides that the county order is intended to implement more stringent county-level restrictions, to complement the “baseline statewide restrictions” set by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order. In addition, where a conflict exists between the county order and any state public health order, “the most restrictive provision controls,” unless the State Health Officer formally determines that a given provision is a public nuisance.

Under the new orders, “Essential Businesses” remain “strongly encouraged” to remain open, but should maximize the number of employees working from home, and may only require employees to work on-site if their duties cannot be performed from home.

Most importantly, the revised county orders require that businesses that include an essential component, along with non-essential components, must (to the extent feasible) scale down their operations to the essential business component only. In addition, “Essential Businesses must follow industry-specific guidance issued by the Health Officer related to COVID-19.”Continue Reading Revised Bay Area Health Orders Clarify, Extend, and Strengthen Prior Shelter-in-Place Orders

At noon today, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Contra Costa counties extended their Shelter-In-Place Orders until at least May 1, 2020. The original Shelter-In-Place Orders were set to expire on April 7. The joint press release may be found here.

These Orders require all individuals ordered to shelter in place in their residences and for businesses to cease all activities at facilities located within the listed counties and with certain exceptions for: (1) “Essential Businesses” (as defined by the Orders); and (2) “Minimum Basic Operations” for businesses that do not qualify as “Essential Businesses.” The Shelter-In-Place Orders now remain in effect through “at least May 1, 2020,” with the term “at least” indicating further extensions are likely.

The intent of the Orders is to ensure the maximum number of people self-isolate in their places of residence to the maximum extent feasible, while enabling essential services to continue, and to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible. Although each of the seven Bay Area counties issued a separate Order, the substantive terms of the Orders are the same. Information about California’s separate, state-wide Shelter-In-Place Order may be found here.

What Businesses are Covered by the Orders?Continue Reading San Francisco Bay Area Shelter-In-Place Orders Extended Until “At Least” May 1, 2020

Effective Friday, March 20, 2020, Governor Newsom imposed a California-wide Shelter-in-Place via Executive Order (“Executive Order”). This Executive Order comes on the heels of numerous shelter-in-place orders issued by individual counties and cities across the state in the past week. The Governor’s Executive Order requires all individuals living in California to stay home or at

As previously reported, effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Contra Costa counties imposed Shelter-In-Place Orders (“SF Bay Area Orders”).  The SF Bay Area Orders require all individuals to shelter in place in their residences and businesses to cease all activities at facilities located within