On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, the Los Angeles City Council voted 11-2 to approve a new ordinance that requires proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, shopping centers, movie theaters, hair and nail salons, and a wide variety of other indoor venues. Grocery stores and pharmacies are not included in the ordinance. If religious or medical exemptions are given to an individual, proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours is needed for the individual to enter an indoor space. The ordinance will go into effect on November 4, 2021.

Because the ordinance ...

On September 20, 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed Grubhub, Inc.’s lower court victory in a class action case involving the alleged misclassification of a former driver. The driver claimed he was misclassified as an independent contractor and asserted claims for minimum wage, overtime and expense reimbursement. The lower court denied class certification and entered a judgment in favor of Grubhub in February 2018. In so doing, the court applied the multi-factor Borello test to assess whether the driver qualified as an independent contractor. The judge ...

On September 29, 2021, the Los Angeles City Council debated a sweeping proof-of-vaccine requirement, with most Councilmembers indicating support. The ordinance will likely be passed upon its second reading next Tuesday.

The ordinance would require customers to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination status to enter a wide variety of public spaces, including restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and fitness venues, movie theaters, shopping malls, concert venues and personal care establishments.

The City’s proposed rules would expand Los Angeles County’s existing ...

Q: I have a large judgment against a wiley debtor. While I was able to execute on some of his bank accounts, the road to his other assets, which I know he owns or controls, has gone cold. A friend of mine told me I should ask my lawyer to get a “receiver in aid of execution” to collect the judgment. How hard is it to get such a receiver?

A: It just got a lot harder. Prior to the adoption in 1982 of California’s Enforcement of Judgments Law (C.C.P. § 680.010 et. seq.), California Code of Civil Procedure (C.C.P.) § 564(4) provided the basis for appointing a receiver in aid of execution. It ...

Data breaches by large companies have been in the news for some time. Over the last several years several companies, including Marriott, Yahoo and Volkswagon, have been victimized by hackers who have broken into a company’s computer network. In some cases, the hackers have put the company’s confidential information on the internet. In other cases, the hackers have held the company’s information hostage through ransomware.

While companies are rightly concerned about the security of their own networks, there is another risk. Recent court cases are testing the liability of ...

Two restaurant relief measures have cleared the California State Senate and Assembly with bi-partisan support. The bills were both enrolled on September 13, 2021, and now await Governor Newsom’s signature.

AB-61: Business Pandemic Relief

AB-61 authorizes the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) to permit restaurants to serve alcohol in an expanded license area. The bill would also authorize the ABC to extend the period of time during which the COVID-19 permit is valid beyond 365 days if the licensee has applied for permanent expansion of their ...

On September 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS”) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to solicit comments from the public regarding the labeling of meat and poultry products made using cultured cells derived from animals. FSIS stated that it would use those comments to make further regulatory requirements.

FSIS also asked for economic data and consumer research to help increase its understanding of the animal cell culture technology industry and related issues regarding labeling and consumer ...

In a year of tough decisions for California employers, the Ninth Circuit just issued another mixed bag of legal decisions to navigate, this time regarding the enforceability of mandatory arbitration agreements.

CA Labor Code § 432.6 and Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Bonta

In October, 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 51, which became codified as Labor Code § 432.6, effective January 1, 2020. This law provided that employers could not require employees to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. In addition, it created civil and criminal ...

On September 9, 2021, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announced several changes to its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program. 

The changes include:

• Increasing the COVID EIDL Cap to $2M. The SBA will lift the COVID EIDL cap from $500,000 to $2 million. Loan funds can be used for any normal operating expenses and working capital, including payroll, purchasing equipment and paying debt.
• Deferred Payment Period. Small business owners will not have to begin COVID EIDL repayment until two years after loan origination. The SBA stated that this change was ...

On September 15, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced that proof of a COVID-19 vaccination will be required at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges in Los Angeles County. This requirement will be announced in a Department of Public Health Order.

The order will recommend, but not require, vaccine verification for employees and customers in indoor portions of restaurants.

The Los Angeles County mandate will also apply to employees of covered establishments and require that both employees and customers have at least one vaccine dose by ...