Client Alerts

2022

Labor and Employment

• Top 3 Things Employers Need to Do to Get Ready for 2023December 19, 2022With 2023 just around the corner, here are the top 3 things employers need to do to get ready for 2023: Update your employee handbook. Let us help you to tune-up your employee handbook for 2023. Having an up-to-date handbook will ensure that your organization’s managers will be able to comply with California’s ever changing employment laws. New changes for 2023 ... read more
• California Minimum Wage Increases for all Employers Regardless of SizeDecember 5, 2022Effective January 1, 2023, the California minimum wage will increase to $15.50 per hour for all employers regardless of size. Although the state minimum wage for small employers (25 or less employees) was scheduled to increase to only $15 per hour to match the rate that has been in effect for larger employers, a provision of the statute requires the annual inflation adjustment to kick in ... read more
• The State of COVID-19 Requirements in California: Five Developments to Keep in MindDecember 1, 2022Almost three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state regulators are taking steps to prepare for a longer term response to COVID-19. Here are five developments to keep in mind: 1. The Definitions of “Close Contact” and “Infectious Period” Have Changed. California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) Director Tomás J. Aragón issued a read more
• New Pay Transparency Law Requires Private and Public Employers to Include a Pay Scale in Job Postings and Increased Pay Data ReportingSeptember 29, 2022California public and private employers should begin preparing for significant new requirements for job postings and pay data reporting. On September 27, 2022 Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1162 (“SB 1162”), a “wage transparency law” that among other things, requires employers of 15 or more employees to include a pay scale in job postings, and for all employers to provide this ... read more
• Employer Cruises to Victory with Supreme Court Arbitration RulingJune 15, 2022On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the long-awaited question whether individual claims brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) can be compelled to arbitration. The Court ruled in favor of employers, holding that arbitration agreements can require employees to resolve individual PAGA claims in arbitration, even if they cannot do the same ... read more
• New COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard Takes Effect May 5: Employers Should Update their COVID-19 Prevention PlansMay 5, 2022An updated COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) took effect on Thursday, May 5, 2022, and will remain in effect through the rest of 2022. You can find a redline version of the ETS here, and the final ... read more
• The California Employer’s Guide to New LawsJanuary 28, 2022As we have seen in just the past few weeks of the new year, laws are rapidly changing for employers. Following our Employment Law Update webinars provided to Private Sector and Non-Profit Employers, and read more

Land Use

• Two New Laws Authorize Multifamily Residential on Commercial PropertyDecember 8, 2022Overview Earlier this year, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2011 (Wicks) and Senate Bill (SB) 6 (Caballero) into law to increase housing production in the state by allowing residential construction on commercially-zoned property. The two bills balance the State’s interest in new housing with local control and provide for increased wages, benefits and standards for ... read more
• Ninth Circuit Vacates Injunction Delaying Caltrans Eviction of Homeless Persons Encamped Along Freeway Exit RampMay 3, 2022The recent Ninth Circuit holding in Where Do We Go Berkeley et. al v. California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) (9th Circuit No. 21-16790, April 27, 2022), provides insight into how courts may adjudicate claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against public entities attempting to clear homeless encampments. In the case, the Ninth Circuit vacated an ... read more

Trial and Litigation

• CPUC Cannot Use Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies to Delay Litigation Under the CPRAJune 29, 2022In the recent ruling of Rittiman v. Public Utilities Commission, the First District Court of Appeal held that the petitioner was not required to exhaust the administrative remedies of the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) prior to filing suit on his Public Records Act (“PRA”) request. The ... read more
• Meyers Nave Achieves Major Appellate Court Victory for the San Diego Association of Governments Protecting Housing Allocation Process From Judicial ReviewJune 24, 2022The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) statutory process enacted by the State Legislature is one of the critical tools needed to address the severe housing crisis facing California. Taking note of both prior precedent and the current historic pressure on housing stock, on June 20, 2022, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District issued its published decision holding that ... read more
• Ninth Circuit Clarifies Mootness Exceptions for Covid-19 LitigationJune 17, 2022The Ninth Circuit on June 15, 2022 issued its long-awaited en banc decision in Brach v. Newsom, holding that the challenge to the California’s Covid-19 restrictions on in-person schooling is now moot.  The appeal arose from a challenge by parents to the State’s orders closing schools for in-person learning at the beginning of the pandemic.  The challenge was brought by several ... read more
• SCOTUS Stays OSHA’s Vaccine Requirement But Leaves In Place Federal Vaccine Requirement For Healthcare FacilitiesJanuary 14, 2022On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) issued its decision staying the enforcement of OSHA’s rule requiring either vaccination or masking and testing for workplaces with over 100 employees (see the decision here).  The Court found that the Petitioners, a ... read more
• Latest: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments on OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Masking/Testing RequirementsJanuary 7, 2022On November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring vaccinations for companies with over 100 employees or in the alternative requiring masking and testing. The ETS was immediately challenged in circuit courts across the nation by a mix of Republican Governors, businesses and religious institutions and then consolidated in the Sixth Circuit after a multi-district ... read more

First Amendment

• Ninth Circuit Offers Some Guidance On When An Elected Official’s Speech Can Form The Basis For A First Amendment Retaliation ClaimApril 26, 2022Part of an elected official’s job entails speaking out on hot button issues including responding to statements from other elected officials.  While the courts have made clear that their doors are not open to settling political disagreements amongst elected officials, the Ninth Circuit has recently identified action taken in response to the disfavored speech of an elected official that may form ... read more

Environmental Law

• California Department of Fish and Wildlife Recommends No Listing of Western Joshua Tree Under California Endangered Species ActApril 25, 2022Fish and Game Commission Expected to Take Action on Recommendation in June The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) delivered its long-awaited Status Review and Recommendation on the western Joshua tree to California Fish and Game Commission on April 21, 2022, recommending against listing the species as threatened under the California Endangered Species ... read more

Housing

• California Density Bonus Law – 2022 UpdateJanuary 21, 2022California’s Density Bonus Law provides housing developers with tools to encourage the development of much needed affordable and senior housing. The California Legislature continues to refine the Density Bonus Law over the past year, with new legislation taking effect on January 1 of this year providing additional flexibility to developers in meeting requirements for a density bonus. In ... read more