The Federal Trade Commission in March of 2019 proposed new changes to its Safeguards Rule, which dictates how a financial institution must protect consumer data. In a recent statement the National Automobile Dealers Association opposed the proposed Rule change, citing a study that indicates that the rule change would impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs on dealers of all sizes. For California dealers that are facing compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, though, the question is whether the proposed change to the Rule would impose changes that differ significantly from CCPA requirements.

For decades the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has required a “wet signature” on an odometer disclosure for sales of vehicles 10 model-years old or less. That era came to an end this September as NHTSA released its final rule allowing states to develop new odometer disclosure forms that may use an electronic signature. The rule also expands the disclosure requirement to cover vehicles 20 model-years or less. However, for California dealers there remain state laws to prevent fully electronic vehicle sales, and therefore additional steps before California can move into the electronic future.

It has now been four years since we initially reported on the new rules proposed by the Department of Labor to update the minimum salary requirement for the federal white collar overtime and minimum wage exemptions. Since then, the proposed rules have bounced around between the DOL under multiple presidential administrations, the federal courts, and the public forum during public comment periods. We have been on the sidelines reporting play-by-play on the status of these rules at every turn and it appears that we may finally have some resolution!

Last year, we discussed the California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex v. Superior Court, wherein the Court imposed a more stringent standard for employers to show that a worker is an independent contractor and not an employee. This month, Governor Gavin Newsom passed a law that incorporates the Dynamex decision into statutory law and gives the law broader scope.

The type of biometric privacy lawsuit filed last month against a Hilton Hotel in Chicago is a harbinger of privacy litigation to come—but a very similar case is not likely to come soon to California, where the recently minted California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) excludes employees like the plaintiff against Hilton.

The California Supreme Court giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other. Dealers pay attention. This affects you.

When an employee raises a concern that he or she has suffered violence or threat of violence that has been, or may be, carried out at the workplace, employers have a duty to investigate the employee’s concerns. An employer whose employee has suffered unlawful violence or threat of violence from any individual that can be construed to be, or to have been, carried out at the workplace, may seek a restraining order through the court, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 572.8.

Earlier this year, we provided you with a comprehensive summary of California’s new sexual harassment training requirements. Prior to the enactment of these new requirements, employers with at least 50 employees were required to provide two hours of sexual harassment training to supervisors. Now, employers with at least five employees are required to provide sexual harassment training to all employees.

Employers who have used severance agreements involving a release of claims are probably familiar with the extra requirements for such agreements when the employee is 40 years or older. Specifically, under the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (“OWBPA”) a release of age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) must meet certain “knowing and voluntary” elements to be enforceable.

Employers have long struggled to make sense of the changing laws regarding when to pay employees whom they don’t perceive as actually working but who aren’t entirely free. In May, we reported that in Ward v. Tilly’s, a California appellate court ruled that employees can be deemed to be “reporting to work” and entitled to reporting time pay for merely calling in to determine whether they must come to work.

Scali Rasmussen employees taking the chance for some local fun in Downtown LA at an Escape Room. They escaped with 2 mins to spare!

The Los Angeles Business Journal today published its list of the “Top Litigators in Los Angeles,” naming Scali Rasmussen Managing Partner, Christian Scali. Of the more than 350 nominations, only 50 professionals were selected. The list, according to the publication, includes those lawyers who “go to the proverbial mat to fight for their clients.” This is the second consecutive year that Scali has made the list.

In a recent decision by the California Court of Appeal, the Court confirmed that auto dealers cannot withhold a customer’s down payment after a sale is unwound as a result of the inability to secure financing, and that the DMV has authority to discipline a dealer for doing so, including suspension or revocation of the dealer’s license.

This article is a follow-up to an article discussing the future enactment of warning regulations for rental vehicles pursuant to California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as “Proposition 65.” Since that article, the proposed regulations for rental vehicles have gone into effect and regulators have issued their “Final Statement of Reasons” explaining the purpose and intent of the regulations.

Last year, we discussed the significance of the case Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, in which the California Supreme Court found that the federal de minimis doctrine did not apply to the plaintiff’s class action claims brought under California law. The federal de minimis doctrine provides that “insubstantial or insignificant periods of time…which cannot as a practical administrative matter be precisely recorded for payroll purposes, may be disregarded.” In cases applying federal law, courts have regularly held that daily periods of up to 10 minutes of work are de minimis.

In recent weeks two data breaches have made headlines across the country, once again drawing attention to the need for businesses to take steps to safeguard customer data. Dealers have a legal obligation to safeguard their customer’s information under both federal and state law, in most jurisdictions. These breaches may also increase the salience of data security issues for customers, meaning that your customers may start to ask questions about how you will protect their data and demand good answers. With the legal obligations aligning with customer expectations, now is the time more than ever to act.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was enacted in June of 2018 and will go into effect on January 1, 2020, is likely to undergo additional changes as the California Legislature enters the final stretch of the legislative year. We have previously updated you on legislation supported by the California Attorney General that would expand the scope of the law and increase consumer’s opportunities for consumers to bring lawsuits for alleged violations of the law. The good news is that the worst aspects of these proposed changes were defeated in committee and will not be enacted this year. The bad news is that some of the more important proposed business-friendly protections have been narrowed.

In a case demonstrating that independent franchised dealers are advocates for the rights and safety of their customers in the face of factory complacency and even opposition, a jury ordered Toyota to pay Southern California Toyota dealer Roger Hogan $15.8 million.

Scali Rasmussen announced today that attorney Monica J. Baumann has successfully completed her certification as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Baumann, a member of the firm’s Data Protection, Privacy, and Cybersecurity team, received the certification through the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the world’s preeminent organization for credentialing privacy professionals. The certification demonstrates one’s understanding of the laws, regulations, and standards of privacy and data security in a given discipline.

Automotive News consulted firm Managing Partner, Christian Scali for their article Lenders tightened reins after Great Recession. "More lenders seem to have a zero-tolerance approach, and they're quick to tighten the screws on dealers," said Scali. "The effect of this in some cases was a cascading chain of events that can have devastating effects on the dealer and from which it becomes impossible to recover."