2019 California Employment Law Update

San Diego Seminar:  Wednesday, January 30, 2019
(presented by Ray Hixson & Nancy Dearborn)

San Francisco Seminar:  Wednesday, January 23, 2019
(presented by Ray Hixson & Mary Wang)

Santa Clara Seminar:  Thursday, January 24, 2019
(presented by Ray Hixson, Brian Nagatani, Mary Wang, & Nancy Dearborn)

Time (All Locations):
Check-In & Lunch:  11:30 a.m.-noon
Presentation:  noon-2:30 p.m.

As usual with each new year, California employers need to catch up with a lot of new compliance requirements for 2019.  Attend this live seminar to learn about:

• Employee Handbooks:  Updates checklist for 2019 compliance; new Guidance on Handbook Rules published by the current NLRB Office of the General Counsel. 

• Expanded Harassment Prevention Training Requirements:  California Senate Bills 1343’s expansion of the 2-hour supervisor training requirement to employers with 5 or more employees, and the new requirement to provide one hour of training to non-supervisory employees (with a January 1, 2020 compliance deadline); also, review of related training requirements and recommended best practices. 

• Expansion of California Harassment Liability:  California Senate Bill 1300’s expansion of the definition of “severe or pervasive” harassment to cover more single incidents; expansion of employer liability for harassment by non-employees.

• New Restrictions on Release or Settlement Agreements: California Senate Bill 1300’s prohibition of requiring releases as a condition of employment, or in exchange for a raise or bonus, and its prohibition of employee agreements not to disclose information about unlawful or potentially unlawful acts; California Senate Bill 820’s prohibition on settlement agreement provisions preventing disclosure of factual information regarding certain claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or harassment or discrimination based on sex;  California Senate Bill 3109’s ban on waivers of the right to testify about alleged sexual harassment or criminal conduct in legal proceedings. 

• Sexual Harassment & Reference Inquiries:  California Assembly Bill 2770’s new qualified privilege protecting (e.g., from defamation claims) certain complaints of sexual harassment, and responses to reference inquiries about whether or not the employer would rehire a current or former employee and whether a decision not to rehire is based upon sexual harassment.  

• Paid Parental Leave:  Legal challenges to policies that provide more paid leave to “primary caregivers” vs. “secondary caregivers” based on alleged gender discrimination against men, including an EEOC lawsuit against Estee Lauder resulting in a $1 million settlement; how to structure paid parental leave policies to support parents and comply with the law. 

• Prior Salary History: California Assembly Bill 2282’s clarification of the requirement to provide a “pay scale” to an “applicant” upon “reasonable request,” and new authorization to consider salary history disclosed voluntarily and without prompting. 

• Criminal History:  Proposed new California regulations implementing the “ban the box” statute; San Francisco’s new ban on inquiries about convictions for now-decriminalized behavior, including convictions for the non-commercial use and cultivation of cannabis. 

• Independent Contractor vs. Employee Classification:  Re-opening of the GrubHub delivery driver misclassification lawsuit in light of the California Supreme Court’s dramatic narrowing of the definition of an indpendent contractor in Dynamex v. Superior Court; retroactive application of Dynamex by another California trial court.

• Other Updates:  California court ruling that a pregnant woman who was told that no position was available could sue despite never applying for a job; new minimum wage rates for 2019; implications for employers of the new California Consumer Privacy Act; reflections on the California Supreme Court’s rejection of the federal de minimis unpaid time principle in Troester v. Starbucks, the U.S. Supreme Court’s validation of employee class action waivers in Epic Systems v. Lewis, and the California New Parent Leave Act after one year.

All attendees will receive detailed PowerPoint slides and additional written materials.  Time will also be reserved for attendee questions during the program.

Your presenters will be attorneys Ray Hixson,  Brian Nagatani,  Mary Wang, and Nancy Dearborn of the law firm Hixson Nagatani LLP.  Hixson Nagatani LLP advises and represents employers in a wide range of employment law matters.  The firm provides advice and counsel on proactive steps that employers should take to ensure compliance and minimize legal risks, including with respect to creating and updating personnel policies and practices, personnel-related forms, risk assessment of contemplated personnel actions, and managers’ legal training.  The firm also defends employers against actual and threatened employee claims, including claims made in state and federal courts, arbitration, and government agencies.

Continuing education credits:  This program has been submitted to the HR Certification Institute and SHRM for review.  This program qualifies for 2.5 hours of MCLE for California attorneys.

Locations & Dates:

San Diego, CA:  Wednesday, January 30, 2019; Doubletree by Hilton San Diego – Del Mar, 11915 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130

San Francisco, CA:  Wednesday, January 23, 2019; San Francisco AIDS Foundation; 1035 Market Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Santa Clara, CA:  Thursday, January 24, 2019; The Biltmore Hotel, 2151 Laurelwood Rd., Santa Clara, CA 95054

Time (All Locations):
Check-In & Lunch:  11:30 a.m.-noon;
Presentation:  noon-2:30 p.m.

Registration fee:  Clients of Hixson Nagatani LLP  may attend for no charge.  For non-clients, there is a $100 registration fee to be paid at the time of registration.  To pay the registration fee using PayPal, click here:  PayPal link.  Or, you may mail a check payable to Hixson Nagatani LLP to:  Yahaira Ortiz, Office Manager, Hixson Nagatani LLP, 4655 Old Ironsides Drive, Suite 420, Santa Clara, CA  95054.  Please note that you must also separately register for the program through one of the links below. This event may sell out in some or all locations, so register quickly to reserve your space!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE SAN DIEGO LOCATION

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO LOCATION

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE SANTA CLARA LOCATION

If you have any questions, please contact: Yahaira Ortiz, Office Manager ([email protected]; 408-486-9955).