On February 15, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered another chapter in the arbitration agreement saga playing out in California and across the U.S. in a case called Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Bonta.

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a case that will affect the landscape of arbitration for years to come. In this update, we briefly summarize the decision and what it means for you as an employer, and we invite you to our upcoming webinars on Tuesday, August 1 at 11:00 a.m. PDT and Tuesday, August 8 at 1:00 p.m. PDT to learn more about the decision and how to protect your business from wage and hour lawsuits in California.

In Donohue v. AMN Service, LLC, the Supreme Court held that “employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches — that is, adjusting the hours that an employee has actually worked to the nearest preset time increment — in the meal period context. The meal period provisions are designed to prevent even minor infringements on meal period requirements, and rounding is incompatible with that objective.” Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, No. S253677 (Cal., Feb. 25, 2021) at *1.

The California Department of Finance published a letter on July 31, 2023, stating that the state minimum wage, which is currently $15.50 per hour, will be increasing to $16.00 per hour effective January 1, 2024, to account for inflation.

California has reinstituted its paid COVID-19 supplemental sick leave, which requires employers with more than 25 employees to provide supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) to employees out with COVID-19 or related issues, retroactive to January 1, 2022.

As federal and state governments continue to loosen their requirements in the workplace for COVID-19, California has followed suit and made it easier for employers to comply with COVID-19 workplace standards.

The California Governor has signed several bills impacting employers that go into effect in 2024. If you missed our 2024 California Legal Updates webinar, check out the replay and the slides here, where you’ll learn how they impact your existing policies and handbooks.

On July 17, 2023, the California Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a case that will affect the landscape of arbitration for years to come.If you missed our webinars on Adolph v. Uber, check out the replay and the slides here, where you’ll learn how to better protect your company from class action and PAGA lawsuits.