California has more employees than any other state. And that number is projected to grow by nearly 40% by 2025.
The Golden State is a global hub for technology, biotech, arts and entertainment, agriculture and green energy. It’s also home to employee-friendly courts, aggressive administrative agencies and a vast and unique body of employment laws and regulations.
Obscure state and municipal laws further complicate areas of employment that already require watchful attention—such as pay and wages, discrimination and harassment, employee leave and reductions in workforce.
And incentives for whistleblowers and employee-led lawsuits and class actions heighten the risk for employers.
Our dedicated team of labor and employment attorneys in California guide our clients through this maze of laws so they can capitalize on the state’s abundant opportunities.
Bloomberg Law | May 12, 2022
This article discussing alternatives to OSHA enforcement and OSHA’s whistleblower provision quotes San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Rachel Conn, who mentions that employers need to be wary of workers who become aware of standards outside their normal duties that could turn up in a whistleblower complaint.
Law360 | December 20, 2021
This article looking at the year’s top wage and hour rulings quotes San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Hillary Baca on how the retroactive application of the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling, which made it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors, could impact employers.
Q Voice News | December 09, 2021
The following article covers the successful resolution of a long-running pro bono matter for which NP teamed with the ACLU to represent a transgender woman who was denied access to the women’s locker room at a gym in San Diego on more than 70 occasions. This denial of access clearly violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in public accommodations. After more than three years, the parties reached a fair settlement. The NP team working on this case includes Intellectual Property partner and Life Sciences practice co-chair Seth Levy, Labor & Employment partner Michael Lindsay, and alum Erin Holyoke, all of the Los Angeles office.
Advocate | December 09, 2021
The following article covers the successful resolution of a long-running pro bono matter for which NP teamed with the ACLU to represent a transgender woman who was denied access to the women’s locker room at a gym in San Diego on more than 70 occasions. This denial of access clearly violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in public accommodations. After more than three years, the parties reached a fair settlement. The NP team working on this case includes Intellectual Property partner and Life Sciences practice co-chair Seth Levy, Labor & Employment partner Michael Lindsay, and alum Erin Holyoke, all of the Los Angeles office.
Law360 | November 19, 2021
This article, focusing on the possible challenges to the “grave danger” argument in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency temporary standard, quotes Labor & Employment deputy practice group leader, OSHA practice chair and Los Angeles partner Benjamin Kim on what constitutes a grave danger, while he notes there will likely be continued legal scrutiny and discussion.
Bloomberg | November 04, 2021
In this article discussing OSHA’s federal COVID vaccination and testing guidelines for large private employers, which were announced on Thursday, San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Rachel Conn is quoted on the potential burden and obstacles posed by weekly testing.
Bloomberg | September 30, 2021
This article, discussing President Biden’s directive to larger employers mandating vaccines or weekly testing, quotes San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Rachel Conn on the potential logistical heavy lift for employers in implementing weekly testing.
CBS/KNX News Radio | June 09, 2021
San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Rachel Conn discussed an upcoming Cal/OSHA emergency standard board meeting to review its recently updated COVID-19 guidelines on facial coverings, following the urging made by the California Department of Public Health to reconsider the board’s earlier guidelines to better align with CDC recommendations.
CBS/KNX News Radio | June 01, 2021
San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Rachel Conn discussed Cal/OSHA’ s proposed updated COVID-19 guidelines and other top-of-mind issues for California-based employers and employees, including whether employers can ask for workers’ vaccination status, Cal/OSHA’ s requirement for vaccination documentation, and whether employers can require employees to be vaccinated.
Law360 | March 19, 2021
This article, focused on a case of whether a California regulation requiring growers to let union organizers on their property is unconstitutional, quotes San Francisco Labor & Employment partner Bonnie Glatzer on governmental policies and ways that the court could address the issue.
The Recorder (California) | January 28, 2021
Los Angeles Project Finance & Public Finance partner-elect Jade Turner-Bond and San Francisco Labor & Employment partner-elect Rachel Conn were included in this roundup of notable legal moves for their promotions to partner.
Engineering News-Record | December 10, 2020
In this article on the workplace requirements for contractors and other employers in the construction industry, San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Rachel Conn is quoted for her outlook on Cal/OSHA’s definition of “exposed workplace” and the potential overlap of notifications requirements with AB 685.
KNX-AM | December 10, 2020
San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Rachel Conn appears as a guest in this radio news segment to discuss the dilemma employers are facing and what they should consider—Cal/OSHA, California sick leave laws and other advisories—as they navigate how to provide a safe workplace for their employees during the holidays.
Law360 | September 16, 2020
This article, which examines last week’s Southern District of New York judgment striking down the U.S. Department of Labor’s joint employment rule, quotes San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Jade Butman on the complexities of multiple layers for employment law compliance with respect to the National Labor Relations Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and FLSA.
Inside OSHA | July 28, 2020
This article, discussing employer objections to the differences between Cal/OSHA and the federal OSHA requirements to record and report COVID-19 cases, quotes an NP alert providing guidance for California employers on the differences. The alert was authored by Occupational Safety & Health (OSHA) practice co-chair and Los Angeles Labor & Employment partner Ben Kim and San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Maritza Martin.
Bloomberg Law | July 07, 2020
In this article on a recent decision requiring the U.S. Labor Department to provide unredacted safety records to an investigative journalism organization, San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Rachel Conn is quoted on how the decision could make it easier for media outlets and labor unions to request injury and illness data from the government. The decision could also lead to adverse publicity for companies.
Daily Journal | June 03, 2020
Labor and Employment partner Bonnie Glatzer and associates Hillary Baca and Jade Butman, all in San Francisco, contributed this article on potential coronavirus-related litigation matters that California employers should be aware of, and how employers can prepare for possible lawsuits.
JCK Magazine | March 31, 2020
This leading trade publication in the jewelry industry quotes San Francisco Labor and Employment associate Hillary Baca, who explained in a recent industry webinar why many employers prefer furloughs to layoffs during this time of economic uncertainty.
Society for HR Management | December 09, 2019
In this article, San Francisco labor and employment associate Rachel Conn provides her insights related to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s draft regulation on workplace-violence prevention programs.
The Sacramento Bee | December 09, 2019
San Francisco labor and employment partner Bonnie Glatzer is quoted in this article about California’s Assembly Bill 5, a new law that redefines how companies classify employees and who qualifies to receive full employment benefits.
Recorder (Law.com) | September 17, 2019
Los Angeles partner Ben Kim and San Francisco associate Rachel Conn, both of the Labor and Employment practice group, co-wrote this contributed article analyzing California’s latest effort to prevent workplace violence through regulations.
Los Angeles Daily Journal | July 10, 2019
Partner Ben Kim, counsel Alicia Anderson and associate Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, all of the Labor and Employment group in Los Angeles, co-wrote this contributed article. The authors analyze the impact of a California Supreme Court ruling that drivers for Dynamex, a package delivery company, are employees rather than independent contractors.
Bloomberg Law | June 04, 2019
San Francisco Labor and Employment associate Rachel Conn wrote this contributed article outlining California’s recent actions to strengthen its occupational safety record-keeping rules in response to weakened protections at the federal level.
