On January 22, 2021, a divided Ninth Circuit panel ruled that a nutritional guide could constitute commercial speech subject to the Lanham Act.

The Lanham Act is best known for being the primary federal trademark statute in the United States. In addition to the trademark provisions, Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act creates a cause of action for false advertising and prohibits any person from misrepresenting his or another person’s goods or services in “commercial advertising or promotion.”

In this case, defendant NutriSearch Corporation published a guidebook that compared ...

Where an employee of a company commits an intentional act, such as a battery or sexual molestation, the managers of that company are often named as defendants on a theory of “negligent supervision”, “negligent retention” or some other form of vicarious liability. While the company’s liability policy of insurance may contain exclusions which bar coverage for loss arising from the employee’s intentional act, the question arises whether the negligence claims against the managers or the company are nevertheless covered by liability insurance.

The threshold question ...

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department issued a new order outlining protocols for businesses to follow. These new rules are designed to decrease COVID transmission risk in restaurant settings.

Some of these new rules for restaurants include:

• Employees that may come in contact with customers must wear both a face covering and a face shield at all times when interacting with customers and when in customer service areas.
• Outdoor dining table seating must be limited to no more than 6 people per table, all of whom must be from the same household.
• All establishments must post signage ...

On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety that calls for a government review of worker safety standards for COVID-19.

The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Labor to issue revised guidance to employers on workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic within two weeks. It further directs the Secretary of Labor to consider emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 and issue those standards by March 15, 2021.

The Executive Order calls for a review of enforcement efforts previously undertaken by the Occupational ...

On January 25, 2021, the California Department of Public Health announced that it was lifting the Regional Stay at Home Order for all regions statewide, including Southern California. Four-week ICU capacity projections for the three regions still under the order (Southern California, Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley) were above 15%.

According to the Department, “this action allows all counties statewide to return to the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates ...

On January 25, 2021, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer announced that the county would be permitting outdoor dining starting Friday, January 29. The county will also remove operation restrictions for non-essential businesses between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The County’s announcement followed Governor Gavin Newsom’s lifting of the state’s Regional Stay at Home Order earlier today.

LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis released a statement that “Los Angeles County will essentially align with the state, by the end of the week, to allow for the ...

On January 12, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced two updates to stakeholders regarding the agency’s Food Traceability Proposed Rule. 

The Proposed Rule was initially announced on September 12, 2020, and it establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for companies that manufacture, process, pack or store foods that the FDA has included on its Food Traceability List.

First, the FDA announced clarifying edits to the Food Traceability List. All of the specific edits are described in a memo: “Food Traceability List for ...

On January 4, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would set January 1, 2024 as the uniform compliance date for final food labeling regulations that are issued in calendar years 2021 and 2022.

In its Federal Register publication of the rule, the FDA stated: “Use of a uniform compliance date provides for an orderly and economical industry adjustment to new labeling requirements by allowing sufficient lead time to plan for the use of existing label inventories and the development of new labeling materials.”

If any food labeling regulation involves special ...

Our previous articles have summarized the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) created under the Federal CARES Act: CARES Act: Paycheck Protection Program Loans, CARES Act: Loan Applications, and CARES Act: Loan Forgiveness Applications. 

This client alert provides information regarding the additional funding and guidelines for the PPP created by the new Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “2021 Act”). Given this subject’s urgency and the complexity of the 2021 Act, this is simply a short summary to provide you a starting point for exploring relief that may ...

On January 1, 2021, the California minimum wage increased to $14.00 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees and $13.00 per hour for smaller employers. The state minimum wage also governs the exempt employee threshold salary, which has increased accordingly. The new minimum salary for employees who otherwise qualify to be exempt from overtime is $58,240 annually for employers with at least 26 employees and $54,080 annually for employers with fewer than 26 employees. 

Further, several California municipalities will raise their minimum wage rates on July 1, 2021. Employers ...