If you thought the battle over California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial drivers was settled back in 2021, you were...mostly right. On June 4, 2026, the Ninth Circuit put the finishing touches on the preemption puzzle in People of the State of California ex rel. Becerra v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, No. 20-70706, denying California’s petition for review and confirming that the FMCSA’s preemption of the state’s meal and rest break (“MRB”) rules extends to drivers of…More

An employee with access to customer lists and other key business information leaves the company. You want to enforce your confidentiality agreement, but with the recent restrictions on non-competition/non-solicitation clauses, there’s not much you can do to stop them from using it – right? WRONG! California employers should be forward looking and act now to protect their confidential information. Even in this harsher landscape, employers can take some practical steps to give teeth to their confidentiality agreements: Conduct an audit to…More

The PAGA reform (click here for a full analysis) caps penalties at 15% or 30% for employers that take “all reasonable steps” to comply with the law. This cap is especially meaningful when plaintiffs demand seven figures for alleged PAGA violations. This means that every California employer should immediately conduct a [privileged] wage-and-hour audit to take advantage of this new law and avoid facing potentially business-threatening PAGA penalties.   What Does “All Reasonable Steps” Mean? “All reasonable steps” includes, but is not…More

The comprehensive reform of California’s Private Attorneys General Act is now the law. The PAGA reform (AB 2288 and SB 92) was a result of an agreement approved by Governor Newsom that removed the vote on the repeal of PAGA from the November ballot in exchange for the reform. PAGA is a vital issue to California employers because they often are victim of the plaintiffs’ bar seeking to impose unfair civil penalties for technical wage-and-hour violations. The PAGA reform attempts to…More

In a significant victory for employers, the California Supreme Court recently held that if an employer reasonably and in good faith believed it was providing complete and accurate wage statements in compliance with wage statement requirements (Labor Code § 226), then it has not knowingly and intentionally failed to comply with the wage statement law. This reasonable and good faith belief precludes an award of penalties under Labor Code section 226, and takes one additional set of penalties out…More

PAGA lawsuits keep getting easier to bring—and one court just took it a step further. Employees no longer need to bring an individual PAGA claim to have standing to sue on a representative basis. Let’s first get a lay of the land: A PAGA claim consists of an individual PAGA claim and a representative PAGA claim. To bring a PAGA claim, an “aggrieved employee” must have worked for the alleged [company] violator and personally sustained just one Labor Code violation within the…More

In a win for California employers, the California Court of Appeal held that stock options are not wages. A stock option is a contractual right to buy company stock at a certain price regardless of whether the stock price increases. If the value of the stock increases, the option is more attractive since the person can buy the stock at lower price and immediately sell the stock at a higher price. For example, if an employee receives a stock option at…More

After four long years of litigation, AB 51, intended to prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements, has been permanently enjoined. California companies may rejoice in a rare win allowing enforceable arbitration agreements to be a condition of employment, so long as the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) governs the agreement. Most arbitration agreements contain this provision, but employers should check to confirm their agreements contain an FAA provision before making them mandatory. The biggest hurdle to mandatory arbitration agreements is now out of…More

In a blow for employers, the California Supreme Court held that trial courts may not strike PAGA claims on manageability grounds. The Backdrop on PAGA Manageability PAGA trials are a collection of mini trials, as opposed to class actions that are one trial for common claims. Class actions must be “certified” as consisting of similar enough claims before the class action can proceed to trial, while PAGA claims have no certification requirement. As a result, there are serious questions as to whether…More

Though you may still be on a sugar high from Halloween, the new year is fast approaching, and with it, the onset of several new California employment laws. Employers should prepare now by updating their handbooks for 2024. While there are a myriad of employment laws to be aware of, we outline the most pertinent changes California employers should make to their handbooks, below:  Update Paid Sick Leave Policies for Higher Accrual Requirements, Carryovers, and Caps Change Your Policy from 24 hours…More