On July 1, 2022, a number of local municipalities will be raising their hourly minimum wage, based on changes to the consumer price index, and as required by their minimum wage ordinances. 

Beginning July 1, 2022, the following increases will apply to all employers in the designated areas:

Additionally, on July 1, 2022, businesses in the City of West ...

Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) actions are the proverbial boogeyman to California employers.  On June 15, 2022, the United States Supreme Court reined in some of this statute’s bite by holding that “aggrieved employees” who signed arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) cannot split their individual claims and their PAGA claims by proceeding with arbitration for the former and a court action for the latter.  An enforceable arbitration agreement will cover all claims, including PAGA claims, raised by the representative ...

On July 1, 2022, the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program Act (Assembly Bill 1221) will go into effect.  This means that Responsible Beverage Service training for alcohol servers and their managers at California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) On-Premises licensed establishments will go from being voluntary to mandatory.

AB 1221 was passed in 2017, and required ABC to create a Responsible Beverage Service Training Program (“RBSTP”) to ensure servers of alcoholic beverages and their managers are educated on the dangers of serving alcohol to ...

On June 2, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced the launch of a new “Supplement Your Knowledge” initiative, with resources targeted to consumers, educators and healthcare professionals.

The initiatives webpage includes videos, infographics, articles and a social media toolkit providing information and warnings to the targeted groups about dietary supplements.

The “Understanding Dietary Supplements” fact sheet notes the agency’s limited role in regulating supplements: “Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act ...

In the words of Tom Cruise’s character Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men, “the hits keep on coming.” This quote crystallizes how California employers will undoubtedly feel following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., decided on May 23, 2022.

Initially decided by the Second Appellate District in 2019, Naranjo previously stood for the proposition that failure to provide missed meal and rest break premium pay did not entitle employees to pursue waiting time penalties under Labor Code section 203 or paystub violation ...

Where multiple liability policies are triggered, does one of the insurers get to insist that its deductible be satisfied before the insured can be provided with a defense? Relatedly, can the insured choose which insurer should provide the defense?  

This situation arises frequently in cases where the underlying damage is “continuous or progressive.” Montrose Chemical Co. v. Admiral Ins. Co., 10 Cal. 4th 645, 662 (1995). In Montrose, the California Supreme Court held where there are successive policies, and where there is damage that is continuous or progressive across multiple ...

On May 19, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it was considering changes to tighten its guidelines for advertisers against posting fake positive reviews or manipulating reviews by suppressing bad ones. The agency also warned social media platforms about inadequate disclosure tools. The FTC is seeking public comment on the proposed updates to its Endorsement Guides. 

The proposed updates include:

• Revising the definition of “endorsements” to clarify that “marketing” and “promotional” messages can be endorsements. When a social media ...

On May 12, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California’s minimum wage is projected to increase to $15.50 per hour for all workers beginning on January 1, 2023. The accelerated increase is required by Section 246 of the California Labor Code, which was enacted in April 2016 through Senate Bill 3. That law provides that the minimum wage will increase according to a specified schedule when inflation exceeds 7 percent. Newsom’s press release states that “[t]he COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in persistent supply chain disruptions and labor market frictions have driven ...

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has updated a number of posters and pamphlets that California employers must post or distribute to employees. Employers should take note to use the most recent versions of these required documents.

All California employers are required to display the following poster, which was recently updated:  California Law Prohibits Workplace Discrimination and Harassment (PDF)

Additionally, California employers with at least five employees must display these three other posters, which were also recently updated:

On May 6, 2022, a panel of three judges in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered a challenge to California’s ban on foie gras. The law has been heavily litigated for nine years, including three sets of appeals before the Ninth Circuit.

The panel ruled 2-1 that the foie gras ban was not preempted by federal law and did not violate the dormant Commerce Clause.

California Health and Safety Code §25982 provides that “[a] product may not be sold in California if it is the result of force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size.”  The ...