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In the spirit of the season and keeping some semblance of normal we are using our annual 12 days of the holidays blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this eighth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: eight maids a-milking and AB 2257.
Deemed an emergency statute, AB 2257 went into effect immediately upon the Governor s signature on September 4, 2020. Focusing on worker classification, the bill provides additional exemptions to AB 5, which concerned the classification of independent contractors.
Last year, AB 5 went into effect and codified what is known as the ABC test a 3-part test used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor delineated in
In November 2020, a California state appeals court ruled in
People of the State of California v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County and Cal Cartage Transportation Express, LLC that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”)
does not preempt application of “ABC” test set forth in California Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) as to truck drivers. In reaching this holding, the California Court of Appeals, Second District, stated that the “ABC test is a law of general application,” and AB 5 “does not mandate the use of employees for any business or hiring entity.” The state appeals court in
Cal Cartage concluded that AB 5 does not amount to a ban of independent contractors in the trucking industry. The appeals court based this conclusion on ways in which companies can purportedly thread the needle such as the business-to-business exemption, despite the fact that, in practice, it is quite difficult for trucking companies to classify truckers as ind
The worksite’s NAICS code.
The employer will be required to continue notifying the local health department of any subsequent laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the workplace.
New Authority for OSHA
Effective January 1, 2021, and until January 1, 2023, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health will have the authority to determine whether a worksite or any part thereof exposes workers to COVID-19 such that it creates an “imminent hazard.” In response to an “imminent hazard,” it may prohibit operations at or entry to that worksite at the immediate area in which the hazard exists by posting a notice to the employer in a conspicuous place. The provision is not to be used in a manner that would interrupt the performance of critical government functions essential to ensuring public health and safety functions or the delivery of electrical power or water. However, there are no other carve-outs.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
2020 has been an unprecedented year in many ways, but one thing that remains constant is the legislature s enactment of new laws that impact employers. Ranging from Covid-19 legislation to revisions to worker classification laws, new reporting requirements, and mandatory additions to boards of directors, below you will find our annual 2021 Employment Law Update.
NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR COVID-19 EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021
On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 685, which will go into effect on January 1, 2021. It requires employers whose employees may have been exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace to notify their employees accordingly and report to local health officials. The new law also allows OSHA to order a facility closed if it deems the potential for COVID-19 infection an “imminent hazard” for employees at that facility. OSHA will also be able to issue “serious violation” citations for COVID-19 without fi