In recognition of Scali Rasmussen's yearslong voluntary service to a class of unlawfully displaced Santa Monica residents, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles recently honored the full service law firm with its Pro Bono Law Firm Award.

President Biden is expected to enact the Speak Out Act in the near future, which was passed by Congress on November 16, 2022, to combat sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. The act will apply to sexual assault or harassment claims brought by an employee under state, federal, or tribal law on and after its effective date. Under the act, an employer will be prohibited from enforcing a nondisclosure or nondisparagement provision contained in an employment agreement, nondisclosure agreement, or other agreement previously signed by an employee to silence that employee’s sexual assault or harassment allegations, in or outside of court.

Since 2012, California has allowed neutral time rounding policies for employee timekeeping, as long as the policy was facially neutral and did not deprive employees of compensation for time worked, under the Court of Appeal case: See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court. Even rounding to the quarter of an hour had been found to be permissible in the past. However, in the age of precision, California courts have chipped away at this practice.

Cal/OSHA's COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which was first adopted November 2020, is set to end after December 31, 2022. Instead, the Standards Board announced it will be voting on a proposed “permanent” standard at the next meeting on December 15, 2022. While it is called the permanent standard, it would only last for two years.

In a November 23, 2022, published decision, DeLeon v. Juanita’s Foods, B315394, the Second Appellate District upheld a Los Angeles Superior Court’s strict interpretation of the California legislature’s 2019 amendments to the California Arbitration Act that a failure by a drafting party to pay arbitration fees timely constitutes a material breach of the arbitration agreement and allows the employee-claimant to (among other things) withdraw from arbitration and pursue their claim in court. This applied not just to the initial filing fee, but also subsequent invoices.

Scali Rasmussen announced today that Principal Colleen O'Brien has been selected as a nominee by the Los Angeles Times for its 'Inspirational Women Awards.' The awards recognize female business leaders in Los Angeles for their noteworthy success and accomplishments during the last 24 months.

In California, another year means another set of new employment laws that impose burdens on employers. The 2022 legislative session was no exception, with new laws passed and signed that address employment-related pay disclosure requirements on job postings, required bereavement leave, extended COVID-related leave, and family medical leave, to name a few areas. The good news for California employers is that none of the new laws make revolutionary changes to employee rights or employer responsibilities, but employers nonetheless need to understand these changes and adjust their practices to avoid potential liability in the future. Some laws passed do not go into effect for another year or two, allowing additional time for compliance (such as the cannabis anti-discrimination law).

The primary changes this year address and limit the availability of GAP waivers- for service members, and limiting the cost of GAP as well as the loan-to-value ratio for applicable vehicles. The legislature also passed a number of bills that continue to move the state towards a zero-carbon transportation sector, including requiring 35% of new car sales to be ZEVs (zero-emission) by 2026, which may not be a feasible goal. Dealers will need to keep an eye on these issues moving forward as it will affect inventory and demand.

The 2022 legislative session focused on various forms of debt and income relief available to small and family-owned businesses. While all of these forms of relief may not apply to every business, they are worth your attention since the economic crunch may worsen and it would be helpful to be aware of these, or other new forms of relief.

When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) amended the Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314) in 2021, some of the new provisions were set to become effective December 9, 2022 (16 CFR 314.5). In light of economic disturbances from the COVID-19 pandemic that exacerbated supply chain issues and caused delays in the availability of information security systems, as well as a shortage of qualified information security workers to implement such systems, the FTC has announced they will extend this deadline until June 9, 2023.

This article, by John Roemer, originally appeared in the Daily Journal, on October 19, 2022, when Scali Rasmussen was named a Top Boutique Law Firm.

Scali Rasmussen announced today that it has been recognized as a "Top Boutique" in a special feature by the Daily Journal, the foremost legal publication in California.

Governor Newsom signed SB 1162 into law, effective January 1, 2023, requiring companies with 15 or more employees to disclose pay ranges on all job postings for in-state jobs.

Governor Newsom recently signed AB2188, a bill barring employers from discriminating against job applicants or taking adverse action against employees for their use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace.

On July 27, 2022, the California Department of Finance determined that poor economic conditions necessitated expedited increases to the minimum wage. Based on changes to the consumer price index (CPI) from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, the state’s minimum wage law bumped up minimum wage changes by one year.

Senator Earl Carter announced that he will be forming a bipartisan congressional caucus on vehicle data access. The caucus will be formed to address policy issues related to the access, use, and control of data generated by telematics programs and other vehicle monitoring systems. These programs use GPS and other systems to monitor drivers’ mileage and driving habits.

A new bill, Senate Bill (“SB”) 346, is before the Governor of California to further protect Californians’ privacy. California already passed laws to protect consumer data collected by businesses through the California Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”). Now, SB 346 aims to protect consumers from collecting and sharing data from in-vehicle cameras.

Scali Rasmussen announced today that the firm has been named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2022 list of 'Most Admired Law Firms.' According to the publication, the list is comprised of outstanding law firms who are consciously working towards creating diverse, positive, and supportive environments to help drive the success of their attorneys.

California’s suitable seating rules require that employers “provide” seats to employees, per section 14 of the Wage Orders. However, they did not address what is required to show that seats were “provided.” The Court of Appeal recently decided this issue in Meda v. AutoZone, Inc., finding that there was a triable issue of fact as to whether seats were “provided” even if they were available, in part because the employee was not informed of their availability and the seats were not in his/her immediate vicinity.

AB 51 (Labor Code §432.6), which was supposed to be effective January 1, 2020, controls whether employers can require employees to waive their right to a court trial in FEHA and Labor Code cases. However, the Chamber of Commerce successfully obtained an injunction against AB 51, preventing the law from going into effect. This injunction was appealed. The Court of Appeal previously upheld the ban on mandatory arbitration but just this month, withdrew that decision and decided to rehear the case.