Seyfarth Releases 2015 Edition of Cal-Peculiarities, the Definitive Guide to California’s Evolving Employment Laws and Workplace Regulations

Seyfarth’s 16th annual edition tracks the most significant updates on new legislation and judicial developments facing the Golden State in 2015

LOS ANGELES (April 14, 2015) — Seyfarth Shaw LLP has released the 16th annual edition of Cal-Peculiarities: How California Employment Law is Different, the industry’s only annual guide that focuses exclusively on the country’s most populous state, which has cemented itself as a trend-setter in employment law.

Authored by Seyfarth’s California Workplace Solutions Group, this 306-page guide is the most comprehensive to date. It captures the latest legislative, judicial and regulatory developments which continue to make California the most uniquely challenging environment for private employers in the United States.

Led by Seyfarth co-editors-in-chief, David Kadue and Colleen Regan, Cal-Peculiarities celebrates its 16th year in publication and is available again in a convenient eBook format, which can be requested here.

According to the guide, legislation codified in the California Labor and Government Codes, combined with expansive decisions from both state and federal judges, and increased enforcement activities and new interpretations by California administrative agencies, continue to expand employer obligations in the following areas:

“Bounty Hunter” or “Sue Your Boss” Lawsuits
Leaves
Employee Privacy - Protected Activities and Confidential Information
Arbitration and Predispute Jury Waivers
Litigation Issues
Age, Disability, Religious, Sex, and National Origin Discrimination
Harassment
Wage and Hour
Vacation
Employee Access to Information
Covenants Not to Compete
Workers Compensation
Independent Contractors

The 2015 edition of Cal-Peculiarities also addresses a number of noteworthy legislative changes and judicial developments, including:

Mandatory Paid Sick Leave: Employees who work at least 30 days in a year are entitled to accrue, beginning July 1, 2015, 24 hours or three days of annual paid sick leave
Immigrant Protection Penalties: The $10,000 civil penalty previously created for immigration-related retaliation now is to go directly to the employees who suffered the violation
Unpaid Intern Discrimination and Harassment: The FEHA prohibitions on discrimination now extend to persons in an unpaid internship or other limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience, and the FEHA now forbids harassment of an unpaid intern or volunteer on any basis that the FEHA protects
Abusive Conduct Training: The mandatory sexual harassment training and education for supervisory employees now must also address prevention of “abusive conduct”
Minimum Wage: The minimum wage increased to $9.00 (in July 2014), and will increase to $10.00 (on January 1, 2016)
On-call rest breaks are permitted: The Court of Appeal has recognized that an employer properly authorizes and permits a rest break even if the employee remains on call during the break
Loosening standard for obtaining unemployment benefits: The Supreme Court ruled that an employee fired for refusing to sign a disciplinary notice was still entitled to unemployment benefits

There is also a section dedicated to a number of issues pending review before the California Supreme Court in 2015 which could further impact the state’s employment landscape.

Additional insights from the guide can also be found online at Seyfarth’s California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog, which chronicles the Cal-Peculiarities universe in real time for in-house attorneys, human resource professionals, business owners and managers.

About Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seyfarth Shaw has more than 800 attorneys and provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate and real estate. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Washington, D.C., Seyfarth’s clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and reflect virtually every industry and segment of the economy. A recognized leader in delivering value and innovation for legal services, Seyfarth’s acclaimed SeyfarthLean client service model has earned numerous accolades from a variety of highly respected third parties, including industry associations, consulting firms and media. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.

Contacts:

Brian Kiefer, Director of Public Relations

(312) 460-6401, bkiefer@seyfarth.com

Martin Grego, Public Relations Manager

(312) 460-6659, mgrego@seyfarth.com