On Sept. 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 into law. The new law codifies and expands the Dynamex decision’s “ABC” test for determining employee vs. independent contractor status, creates certain exemptions, and increases the options for enforcement. While the new law leaves a great many questions unanswered, this much is crystal clear: Effective Jan. 1, […]
FELS Newsletter: October & November 2019
California’s New Anti-Arbitration Statute
California recently enacted Assembly Bill 51, a law that attempts to ban certain mandatory employment arbitration agreements in the state. But what is the practical impact of AB 51 in light of its possible preemption by the Federal Arbitration Act and other potential challenges to its limits on arbitration? BackgroundOn Oct. 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom […]
Pay v. Compensation: What’s the Difference?
Wage orders of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (such as Wage Order 14, which covers agricultural occupations) require employers to provide meal periods and rest periods to employees under specified conditions (see Meal Periods & Rest Periods, FELS website, March 5, 2019). Moreover, Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention standard for outdoor worksites requires employers to provide employees with […]
Defend Your Property!
FELS has received reports of California Employment Department Monitor Advocate Office outreach employees entering farms without the landowner’s permission and in some cases entering posted property. FELS has long recommended that agricultural employers vigorously defend their property against trespassers or anyone entering private property without permission or appropriate legal authority for various reasons: Your employees […]
Reporting Time Pay Not Required for Power Outages
Imposing Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPSs) throughout its service area, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has at times cut electricity service to multitudes of customers during this wildfire season. These outages affect hundreds of thousands of customers for days at a time. PG&E contemplates these outages when weather conditions — including those causing “red flag” […]
New Laws for 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed nearly 870 bills and vetoed 172. Among them are several of interest to California agricultural employers; all take effect on Jan. 1: Signed into law: Assembly Bill 5 (Gonzalez, D-San Diego) codifies and expands the “ABC” test established by the California Supreme Court’s April 2018 Dynamex decision. Under it, a business must show three […]
