March 30, 2020

Small Business Exemption Guidance Issued for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Act”) goes into effect on April 1, 2020. The Act expanded employer requirements as it relates to providing employees with Emergency Family and Medical Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave, as described in an article Shivani Sutaria Law Offices published on March 19 (see below). On March 24, 2020, the Department of Labor re...

California Governor Newsom has signed into law many employment related bills that will significantly alter the legal landscape. Here is a quick snapshot of several of those new laws that go into effect on January 1, 2020 unless noted otherwise: 

Codifying the New Independent Contractor Test (AB 5): AB 5 codifies the “ABC” test, which the California Supreme Court decided in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, was the test to use in...

With a focus on preventive employment law, Shivani Sutaria Law Offices works to educate, advise and develop policies and practices for employers in an effort to prevent legal disputes and encourage harmonious workplaces. As such, Shivani Sutaria Law Offices is pleased to provide this 2019 New Year Employment Law Checklist to employers who are in the process of understanding and implementing a slew of new employment laws.  Please contact me at...

California Governor Jerry Brown signed numerous employment bills into law this year, many of which are in direct response to the #metoo movement.  This article summarizes those new sexual harassment laws.  All new laws take effect January 1, 2019 unless noted otherwise.

Expansion of Who Can be Liable for Sexual Harassment (SB 224):  This new law is directly in response to sexual harassment claims that have plagued the entertainment industry and Silicon...

In just the past five months, the California Supreme Court has issued three rulings that significantly impact the legal landscape for California employers.  These decisions impact payment for “working off the clock”, classification of workers as independent contractors, and calculating overtime when paid bonuses. Below is a summary of these three rulings as well as tips for employers.  

Employers must Pay Employees for Every Minute they Perform Work

Just last week...

In the last few days, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law several bills that will significantly alter the employment law landscape in California and specifically impose many new requirements on employers. These new laws expand parental leave to small business employees, prohibit employers from inquiring into past salary history, restrict pre-job offer reliance on conviction history, limit cooperation in immigration enforcement actions, and strengthen anti-retaliatio...

​Employers, are you wondering what new employment laws are on the horizon for California?  Just look to San Francisco, which has historically been two steps ahead of California when it comes to employment laws.  The city has enacted several employment ordinances years prior to California enacting similar state-wide laws.  For example, San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance went into effect in February 2007, which was eight years prior to California enacting its pa...

Sexual Harassment is in the news again: Uber, the UC System, Fox News.  The harassment scenarios at these companies involve the more “typical” sexual harassment players and facts: A male employee in a position of power sexually harassing a female subordinate in the workplace.  While most employers are able to identify these “typical” scenarios, they should also be aware of less typical fact patterns that can bring rise to legal claims under California’s expansive sex...

Retaliation charges and lawsuits have steadily increased over the years, and thus it is important for employers to understand what type of employee activity is “protected” under California law and how they are limited from taking action against employees for engaging in such activity. This article summarizes several of California’s retaliation statutes and provides tips to employers to avoid retaliation claims:

Discrimination-Related Retaliation: 

The De...

Shivani Sutaria Law Offices is pleased to provide this 2016 Year-End Employment Law Checklist to employers as they prepare for 2017.  This checklist hits on a few important employment law issues to be considered at the end of the year.  

1. Confirm Employee Headcount: Count your total number of employees for purpose of determining what laws are applicable to your company.  Significant milestones to cross are 5, 15, 25 and 50 employees (i.e. Family Medical L...