A brief discussion of businesses and occupations that were initially exempted from AB 5 is available here. Stay tuned as to how this litigation turns out and the impact on arbitration agreements in California. Section 200.3 defines a "successor" entity as one that: In support of the above, AB 3075 also requires that certain business entities verify in their Statement of Information filed with the Secretary of State, whether any officer, director, or any member or manager of a limited liability company has an outstanding final judgment in any court or issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. However, film and television unit production crews, still photographers and cinematographers, are not exempt. (Section 1102.5 also prohibits retaliation because the employer believes that the employee disclosed or may disclose such information or because the employee is a family member of a person who has, or is perceived to have, made such disclosures. The requirements for this exemption have also been modified to allow service providers to negotiate their rates with the client. The specific place of employment is ordered closed by a local health department, the State Department of Health, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or a school superintendent due to the risk of infection of COVID-19. This new law has been challenged as being preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and section 432.6 is currently enjoined from being enforced. Provide written notice to the exclusive representative (if any) of all employees within item 1, that contains the same information that would be required for an incident report within a Cal/OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness Log (unless inapplicable or unknown), even if the organization is not required to maintain such a log. Fifth Circuit Reminds Employers of the Importance of Contemporaneous... Ontario Government Passes Regulation to Create Flexibility in the... PTAB Provides Precedential Decisions Weighing Fintiv Factors. Posted by onepoint-admin on Dec 17, 2020 9:51:46 AM Tweet; This fall, the California legislature responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with several new laws that impact employers from workers' compensation, paid sick leave/Leaves of absence and workplace safety. California s Governor recently finished signing into law many new employment-related bills, some that have already gone into effect and others going into effect on January 1, 2021. Provide written notice to the exclusive representative (if any) of all employees within item 1, that contains the same information that would be required for an incident report within a Cal/OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness Log (unless inapplicable or unknown), even if the organization is not required to maintain such a log. The bill provides that evidence of measures in place to reduce the potential transmission of COVID-19 in the employee’s place of employment or evidence of an employee’s nonoccupational risks of COVID-19 infection may successfully rebut the presumption. However, SB 1159 creates a new presumption of compensability for two classes of employees. The notice can be provided in any manner that is likely to be received (e.g. SB 1159 effectively requires employers to promptly investigate and address cases of COVID-19 among employees. Employers may be subject to citations and/or penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. Notably, AB 2257 also grants district attorneys the ability to file injunctive relief actions against businesses suspected of misclassifying employees as independent contractors. EEOC Weighs in on Mandatory COVID Vaccines We’ve posted a couple of times in the past about whether employers may require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Global Mobility in a COVID-19 World – Key Employment and Tax... FDA Guidance: Use of “Potassium Salt” as an Alternate Name for “... Have UK Insolvency Practitioners Lost the Protection of Release... RCEP: Boosting Value Chains and Facilitating Trade Flows. Mandatory or Voluntary Employee Vaccinations: EEOC Weighs In, Indian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Regulation 101 [PODCAST]. Failure to understand and adapt to the changes in worker classification law can expose California employers to significant risk, including the collection of unpaid wages and back taxes, civil penalties, and civil (and potentially class action) litigation. It also requires companies to develop anti-discrimination and sexual harassment policies; training programs for drivers related to driving, traffic, accident avoidance, and training programs recognizing and reporting sexual assault and misconduct. refusing to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of state or federal statute, or violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule, or regulation. Nancy S. Fong, Peter A. Griffin, Baldwin J. Lee, Jennie L. Lee, Alexander Nestor, Annette M. Rittmuller, Nicholas J. Schuchert, Alana Thorbourne Carlyle, Amy Wintersheimer Findley, Melissa K. Zonne contributed to this article.Â. AB 3075, effective January 1, 2021, makes it easier for workers to enforce judgments for unpaid wages by making certain successor businesses liable for their predecessor’s unpaid wage and hour judgments. On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed SB 973, which requires certain employers to collect and submit compensation data to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). In response, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, InstaCart, and Postmates spent more than $200 million in lobbying efforts for a ballot initiative that would override AB 5 and AB 2257, and classify drivers as independent contractors. In last year’s alert, we noted that AB 51, codified as Labor Code section 432.6, would prohibit employers from requiring employees to enter into arbitration agreements covering claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Labor Code as a condition of employment. Contrary to prior law, AB 5 presumed that all workers are employees, rather than independent contractors. Jeffrey G. Briggs is an associate in our San Francisco office and a member of our Labor & Employment group.  Jeffrey advises employers on a wide variety of employment matters.Â. As a result, employees may be eligible to take as much as 24 weeks of combined leave under the CFRA and FMLA depending on the reason for the leave. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as “Cal/OSHA,” recently issued new emergency temporary standards to protect workers from COVID-19 (the “Emergency Temporary Standards”), which were approved by the Office of Administrative Law earlier this week. Accordingly, hiring businesses who wanted to classify a worker as an independent contractor had the burden of establishing that the worker either (1) fell under one of the exemptions set forth in AB 5; or (2) could meet each element of the stringent “ABC” test, set forth in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal. 31, 2021, and annually thereafter (if the employer is required to file an annual Employer Information Report under federal law). Under California law, employees have extensive privacy rights in their medical information. In addition to the above, as of January 1, 2021, employers will have reporting requirements if they are notified that the number of cases at their worksite meets the definition of a “COVID-19 Outbreak” as defined by the State Department of Public Health. If the hiring business fails to establish any of these factors, the worker will remain classified as an employee. (Section 1102.5 also prohibits retaliation because the employer believes that the employee disclosed or may disclose such information or because the employee is a family member of a person who has, or is perceived to have, made such disclosures. Notice of potential exposure may come to an employer from the employee, the employee’s representative, the employee’s emergency contact, the testing protocol, or the employer of a subcontracted employee that was on the worksite. An “outbreak” exists if one of the following occurs within a period of 14 days at a specific place of employment: When a presumption is applicable under this section, an employer has only 45 days after the claim form is filed to deny the claim (as opposed to the typical 90 days) and otherwise may only rebut the presumption with evidence obtained after that 45 day period. This requirement is not operative until January 1, 2022, unless the Secretary of State implements "California Business Connect" (the Secretary of State's anticipated online portal that automates all paper-based processes) sooner. By December 31, 2022: (i) such corporations with five to eight directors must have at least two directors from underrepresented communities; and (ii) such corporations with nine or more directors must have a minimum of three directors from underrepresented communities. Address cases of COVID-19 in the firm’s Los Angeles office of Allen Matkins increased with new. 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