Employee Handbooks

California employers scored an important win last week when the California Court of Appeal enforced an employee’s “standing” prospective meal period waiver. That decision, in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc., confirmed that meal periods for shifts between five and six hours can be “waived by mutual consent” even in a prospective (i.e., forward-looking) waiver. Procedural…

Last week, the Trump administration introduced a series of executive orders aimed at reducing the scope of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives within federal agencies and among private employers working with the government. These new orders focus on curtailing programs that the administration believes may lead to reverse discrimination or violate principles of merit-based…

In this informative 75-minute webinar (including a question and answer session at the end), Hirschfeld Kraemer Partners Derek Ishikawa, Ferry Lopez and Monte Grix will cover major employment law developments for 2024 and help you get thinking of what your business needs to do to avoid being a target of litigation. The topics to be…

As California employers rightfully reflect on their accomplishments from 2023, it is time to look ahead to 2024 and make sure your company’s New Year’s Resolutions include the following: Employee Handbook/Policy Changes 2024 Paid Sick Leave Changes: As of January 1, 2024, most employers are required to provide 5 days/40 hours of paid sick leave…

This coming Monday, June 20, 2022, will be the second Juneteenth officially recognized as a federal holiday in the U.S. All federal government offices, federal courts, banks, post offices, schools, and the U.S. financial markets will be closed. Many private employers are following suit, although they are not legally required to give employees time off….

The employment law landscape is always shifting, and there’s a lot to navigate, especially as the pandemic drags into its third year. On February 14, 2022, Hirschfeld Kraemer lawyers Steve Hirschfeld, Hieu Williams, Monte Grix, and Ferry Lopez presented a 90-minute webinar providing insight on the hottest developments in labor and employment law in 2021,…

This year saw a host of changes to California employment laws, and not all of them resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the laws changed rapidly to address the needs of employees and employers during these increasingly uncertain times, California laws changed significantly with regard to all sorts of everyday activities. Among other things: Employees…

On Dec. 14, 2020, Hirschfeld Kraemer’s Michelle Freeman was a guest on Employment Matters, the Employment Law Alliance (ELA) podcast. In Episode #200, New Cal-OSHA Regulations and their Impact on Employers During COVID-19, Michelle discusses California’s new workplace rules about COVID, which went into effect in early December 2020. (Michelle has previously blogged on this…

Is it safe for work to reopen? That is the biggest question employers everywhere are asking as COVID-19 stay-at-home orders start to lift. But that one question spawns many others, such as: Who will come back to work? Will employees want to come in to work,or is telework the “new normal”? What safety precautions must…

On December 18, 2019, Hirschfeld Kraemer attorneys Kirstin Muller, Alison Hamer, Benjamin Treger, and China Westfall presented a one-hour webinar, “California Employment Laws 2020: Your Survival Guide.” The webinar provided a comprehensive overview of what employers need to know in order to stay in compliance in 2020. 2019 was a remarkable year in California employment law. Sacramento lawmakers…