Huntington Beach City Council Bans Any Future Mask Mandates and Vaccine Mandates

COVID-19 is in the news again, and many businesses and schools are bringing back the mask requirements. Employers may be interested to know that the city council in Huntington Beach, California votes to ban mask and COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the city. With such a staunch stand against COVID restrictions, local employers may be hard pressed to require masks and proof of vaccination.

Employers, Employment, RestaurantsKathleenSeptember 9, 2023COVID, Covid-19, vaccination, mask, Huntington Beach, Employment lawsuit, employer, employees, Employee lawsuit, employment, employment discrimination, pandemic, Covid

Ninth Circuit Requires Employers to Micromanage All Employee Actions- Including What Songs to Play on the Loudspeakers!

Employers can be held liable for sexual harassment based on the type of music that is played in the workplace for all to hear. Sexual harassment is now so broadly defined that the music does not need to target any one person and can be simultaneously offensive to both men and women. Employers should regulate the type of music employees may be allowed to play in the workplace – or limit the type of music to a predetermined list of songs or music channel.

Employers, Employment, RestaurantsKathleenSeptember 8, 2023employment discrimination, Employment lawsuit, employer, sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, Civil Rights Act, employment, Employment award, Employee lawsuit, employees

California Appellate Court: “Gig” Drivers are NOT Employees.

A California Appellate Court recently held that Proposition 22 is NOT unconstitutional. “Gig” drivers for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash may continue to operate as independent contractors and are not automatically presumed to be employees.

Employers, EmploymentKathleenMarch 21, 2023Prop 22, Proposition 22, Dynamex, AB5, independent contractors, employees, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, "gig" workers

Big and Small Employers Breathe a Sigh of Relief: Employer’s Good Faith Belief That No Wages Were Owed to an Employee Is a Defense to Liability Under Labor Code Sec. 203 and 226.

Recently in February of 2023, in a rare moment of support for the California employer, a California appellate court explicitly held that the employer is not liable for waiting time penalties or wage statement penalties if, at the time, the employer had a good faith dispute as to whether or not the employee was entitled to additional wages.

Employers, EmploymentKathleenMarch 10, 2023Employment lawsuit, employer, employer records, Employee lawsuit, rest and meal breaks, premium pay, wage statements, waiting time penalties, wage statement penalties, good faith belief, good faith dispute

IRS Proposes New Program that will Disproportionately Crackdown on Small Business and the Working Class, i.e. the “Small Guys.”

This past Monday, February 6, 2023, the IRS announced that it is proposing a new program that would allow digital tracking of all service employees’ tips. The new program is called The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA), which will require more stringent monitoring and reporting of all tips. The SITCA program is the beginning of a new era: one where transactions, even the smallest transactions for a cup of coffee, can trigger tax liability

Employers, EmploymentKathleenFebruary 8, 2023SITCA, IRS, Taxes, Tips, The Internal Revenue Service, Service Industry, The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA), Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA), Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC), Employer signed TRAC (EmTRAC)., 26 C.F.R. §31.3121(q)

California Fast Food Employers Fight Back: Implementation of California’s “First of Its Kind” FAST Recovery Act is Temporarily Suspended.

California restaurant owners are fighting back in court and challenging California’s new and unique Fast Recovery Act. The new law, which gives a supervisory board unlimited unilateral control over the relationship between the franchise owners and the franchise owners employees, has been suspended by a Sacramento judge.

Employers, EmploymentKathleenJanuary 5, 2023Fast Recovery Act, AB 257, referendum, Save the Local Restaurants, employment, employer, franchise owners, Fast Food Council, fast food, fast food franchise

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