Employers in California are no longer able to require their employees to arbitrate work-related grievances. This stunning ruling was handed down yesterday by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In its decision, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the legality of California’s anti-arbitration law known as Assembly Bill 51.
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that employers with 100 employees or more will be—in the near future— required to ensure that their workplace is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or otherwise subject to at least weekly COVID-19 testing before coming to work. It is estimated that the new rule will affect at least 80 million workers in the private sector.
Employees must be paid for the time spent waiting for and receiving medical attention for a work-related injury (e.g., initial doctor visit). In fact, under the California Labor Code, employees are entitled to receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses, along with lost wages, when they submit to an examination by a physician at the request of the employer, the insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’ compensation administrative law judge.
California has one of the strictest privacy laws in the United States. One such law, California’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”), requires that any person or entity that owns or operates a commercial website or online service that collects personally identifiable information (“PII”) from California residents to have clearly visible and accessible privacy policies. These privacy policies must provide consumers notice on what type of PII the business collects and what the business does with the PII.
The most important elements of a business are (1) the employees and (2) the customers. All employees comprise the core of every business. Without employee acknowledgment and appreciation, your business’ path to achieving its strategic goals, mission and/or vision becomes measurably more difficult.
In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) was enacted, creating a federal subsidy that fully covered COBRA premiums for qualified beneficiaries. These subsidies will end on September 30, 2021.
Establishing or redefining your company’s core values, mission and vision will have a direct impact on increasing top-line revenue as well as profit. Equally important, it will ensure you hire like-minded employees and build a culture of retention and growth.
The CDC has changed course again. Yesterday (July 27), the CDC issued new masking guidelines in response to the Delta variant of COVID-19. Effective July 27, 2021, the CDC recommends that all persons—vaccinated or otherwise—mask up indoors.
Looking to move your business out west? You may be able to domesticate your foreign corporation into a California entity.
A fractional chief operating officer, or COO, handles the big-picture operation needs of a business on a part-time basis. The fractional COO helps the owner or CEO with growth challenges until the day comes when the company is ready to hire or promote a full-time COO.
