On December 21, 2020, Congress agreed to a $900 billion stimulus bill, passed as The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“the Act”). The 5,593-page Act includes funds designated for direct relief, additional money for forgivable Paycheck Protection Loans and tax relief measures, but does not include funding specifically for restaurants or hotels.

• Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loans: The Act sets aside $300 billion in additional Paycheck Protection Loans. Of that, $15 billion is earmarked for live entertainment venues and $20 billion is set aside for ...

On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) released a report finding that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) did not demonstrate that it followed a sound process in promulgating its 2017 tip rule.

The DOL published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking of the 2017 tip rule on December 5, 2017. The 2017 tip rule rescinded portions of the DOL’s 2011 tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which were passed by the Obama Administration. In issuing the 2017 tip rule, the DOL stated that the 2011 tip rule incorrectly construed ...

A recent case from California, Barickman vs. Mercury Casualty, 2 Cal.App.5^th 508 (2016) illustrates the perils that may arise when an insurance company, evidently playing hardball with its insured, refuses to deviate from its “form” releases.

In Barickman, the Mercury’s insured (McDaniel) injured two individuals (Barickmand and McInteer) in a car accident in which McDaniel was found to have been intoxicated while driving his car. McDaniel was criminally prosecuted and there was the possibility that McDaniel, as part of any sentence in the criminal proceeding, might be ...

Yesterday Judge James Chalfant issued a preliminary injunction against Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining ban on the basis that the county acted arbitrarily and failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis. The case was brought by the California Restaurant Association and Mark Geragos to challenge the outdoor dining ban imposed by the November 30th Los Angeles County stay-at-home order.

The Court held that L.A. County was required to perform a complete risk-benefit analysis before enacting the ban and that it failed to do so. The Court’s ruling noted that the L.A ...

On November 30, 2020, Cal-OSHA’s proposed temporary COVID-19-related emergency regulations became effective. The new regulations, which are found here, will remain in effect until October 2, 2021, unless they are extended.

The new regulations apply to most California employees, only excluding employees working from home, an employee at a site where the employee does not have contact with others and employees covered by Cal-OSHA’s Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard (applies to certain healthcare facilities and labs).

Under the new regulations, employers must ...

On December 3, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new regional stay-at-home order.

Under the order, California is divided into five regions: Northern California, Greater Sacramento, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Regions where the ICU capacity has gone over 85% will be placed into a Stay-at-Home order for a minimum of three weeks. After the three-week period, reopening of closed services will be based on four-week projections of regional ICU capacity.

Southern California and three other regions are anticipated to reach 85% or more ICU ...

On November 4, 2020, Uber, Lyft and Door Dash secured a victory in their expensive campaign to categorize app-based drivers as independent contractors. 55% of California voters voted in favor of Proposition 22, which means that app-based drivers will be considered independent contractors, and not eligible for employee benefits or protections.  

The Lead-Up: California’s Independent Contractor Muddle

For the past few years, California businesses have reeled from a California court decision and new laws, which dramatically limit the use of independent contractors ...

Today, December 2, 2020, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced alternatives to the 14-day recommended quarantine for those exposed to COVID-19.

For individuals exposed to COVID-19 who have not experienced symptoms, the CDC advises that quarantine can now end after 10 days if no COVID-19 test is taken, or after 7 days with a negative COVID-19 test.

However, the CDC advises continued monitoring of symptoms for the full 14 days after exposure to the virus "especially if quarantine is discontinued early."  The CDC also recommends the full 14-day ...

The California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (the “CPRA”) expands the privacy rights and protections provided to California consumers pursuant to existing state law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”). Businesses that are subject to the CPRA must comply with various notice obligations and requirements related to the collection, deletion, sale and sharing of personal information.

This client alert provides a summary of some of the CPRA’s changes to the CCPA, the creation of the California Privacy Protection Agency and the ...

Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department announced a new stay at home order, which goes into effect November 30, 2020 and will remain in place until December 20, 2020.

Under the new order, all public and private gatherings with individuals from more than one household are prohibited, except for faith-based services and protests.

The order states that restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries remain closed for in-person dining and drinking “because of high rates of transmission in the community.” The order states that one reason for the closure of in-person dining is ...