The Laboring Oar Blog
Visit the Full BlogThe Laboring Oar® is Greenberg Glusker's employment blog that provides the latest employment and labor law trends and updates to help clients remain informed in an ever-changing, dynamic world.
Changes to COVID Isolation Requirements
For several years, California’s COVID isolation guidelines have played a key role in “stopping the spread” in the workplace by requiring contagious employees to isolate at home. As of March 13, 2023, the California Department of Public Health has revised those guidelines . In alignment with CDC Recommendations for Isolation and...
Should Interns be Paid or Unpaid?
I recently shared commentary with SHRM regarding unpaid internships, including the legal considerations that employers should keep in mind. When are internships allowed to be unpaid and when they must be paid? The short answer is that so long as an intern is properly classified under the law as...
Out With the Old, In With the New: Employment Law Updates in 2023
With 2023 here, it’s time for employers to comply with new California labor laws. Below is a highlight reel of these changes. What’s in a Name? Turns Out, Not Much: The Department of Fair Employment and Housing is Renamed the Civil Rights Department Effective July 1, 2022, the California...
Employers Feel the Heat from Summer Legal Updates — Minimum Wage Increases, Arbitration Enforcement, and New COVID Safety Definitions
Local Minimum Wage Increases Go Into Effect on July 1, 2022 On July 1, 2022, a number of local governments throughout California will raise their minimum wage. In the City of Los Angeles, the new rate is $16.04/hour ($18.17/hour for hotel employees at hotels with 150 or more guest...
Cal/OSHA Revises and Readopts the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards for the Third Time
The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards (Cal/OSHA) Board recently voted to revise and readopt the COVID-19 emergency temporary standards (ETS) for the third time. The third revised ETS is expected to take effect the first week of May and will remain in place until December 31, 2022. The changes...
Reminder: CalSavers Compliance Deadline on June 30, 2022 for Employers with 5-50 Employees
The deadline for California employers with between 5-50 employees to either register for, or opt out of, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is quickly approaching. As we explained in a previous blog post , CalSavers is a new, automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA program, designed to expand access to...
Vaxxed and Unmasked in Los Angeles County
In light of the decreasing rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, Los Angeles County is relaxing its current mask mandate. Pursuant to the revised Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Order (the “Revised Order”), effective at 12:01 am on Friday, February 25, 2022, businesses may elect to allow workers...
Employers’ Struggles with Religious & Disability Accommodations from COVID-related Policies
The science, guidance, and regulations related to workplace safety policies for the COVID-19 pandemic are constantly changing (goodbye federal vaccine mandate!). As employers struggle to keep up, they are confronted with the decision of what safety policies to adopt, including, for many, whether to require their employees be vaccinated against...
OSHA ETS Vaccine Mandate Back In Effect (For Now)
Mere moments after we published our most recent client alert, E.L.F. on a Digital Shelf: Employment Law Facts, a Summary of California’s New 2022 Employment Laws , on December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the nationwide stay on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA...
E.L.F. on a Digital Shelf: Employment Law Facts, A Summary of California’s New 2022 Employment Laws
In preparation for 2022, California employers have an abundance of new laws with which to comply. Below are the highlights curated by our Employment Law Group. SB 331: The “ Silenced No More ” Bill, Prohibits Confidentiality of Alleged Unlawful Acts in NDAs and Settlement Agreements SB 331, which takes...
Federal EEO-1 Pay Data Reporting Gets Pushed to April 2021, But California Pay Data Reporting is Due March 31, 2021
Federal EEO-1 Reports Employers who are required to file Employer Information Reports (an “EEO-1 Report”) should prepare to submit their 2019 and 2020 data in April 2021. Due to COVID-19, EEO-1 reporting for 2019 was delayed until the same deadline as 2020. The EEOC has not released a specific...
Los Angeles County Has Extended its 2020 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Requirement, Retroactive to January 1, 2021
While the State of California and the federal government both let their respective laws requiring COVID-19 paid sick leave expire at the end of 2020, Los Angeles County belatedly passed an ordinance that retroactively requires employers in the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid...