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.

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which provides leave for employees for their own (or a family member’s) serious medical condition as well as baby bonding underwent significant changes in the last two years, making it different from FMLA leave in several ways.

Although portions of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and regulations are not yet effective, California Attorney General’s (“AG”) office is not waiting to enforce. As it stands, the CCPA was modified by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) and is not in full effect until January 2023. However, the majority of the CCPA is currently in effect and Sephora is the first one to feel it.

National legislation aimed at reducing inflation is quickly working its way through Congress and is anticipated to hit President Biden's desk for signature as soon as the beginning of next week. Newsworthy in itself, this is especially important news for automobile dealerships because when it is signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA") will cause immediate changes to the federal EV tax credit that will very likely impact vehicles already on your lot.

In the courtroom, at the conference table, and in the community, Scali Rasmussen (SR) continues its efforts to regularly keep clients and friends apprised of useful news, views and resources that can impact your business. Here are some highlights of our activities over the past year.

Reynolds and Reynolds has just introduced a revised version of their "553" retail installment sales contract. The form was last revised in 2016, and Reynolds and Reynolds’ new "8/22" version has come out in both arbitration and non-arbitration versions, LAW®553-CA-ARB8/22 and LAW®553-CA 8/22. Reynolds and Reynolds noted that the revised forms contain the following changes:

While the courts sometimes give employers good holdings that provide a solid foundation for risk management and achieving 100% compliance, most other times, navigating the ever-shifting sands of California’s employment law decisions can be more like trying to tread water in quicksand. Recent rulings are no different – some good and some bad. But keeping abreast of developments and planning a strategy to deal with the changes can help keep you from being mired in a morass. Here’s what’s new, let’s talk about compliance strategies when your arms get tired.