Articles, news & legal alerts

Read the latest news from Scali Rasmussen, including legal alerts and event listings.

Published on

The 2023 legislative session touched on a wide array of business topics. The new laws do not affect all businesses, but are nonetheless worth every business owner’s attention, as they may shape you conduct business in California in the future. In particular, California continues to pass legislation aimed at minimizing the impact of climate change.

Published on

As with prior years, California enacted additional legislation with the goal of limiting catalytic converter theft. Dealerships will need to take the necessary action to comply with these new laws. AB 473 is a victory for dealerships in that, among other things, it closes a loophole used by manufacturers during the Protest process. And, as with new laws governing businesses, in general, California has passed additional legislation aimed at minimizing the impact of climate change that targets the vehicle and dealership process.

Published on

Both the Federal government and California enacted legislation raising the minimum wage for certain workers. California has also passed several bills that protect employees in variety of ways relating to cannabis use, non-compete agreements, workplace safety, right to organize, retaliation, and reproductive rights.

Published on

The most important civil procedure-related bill passed by California relates to arbitration in employment actions. Previously, if a court denies an employer’s motion to compel arbitration and the employer files an appeal, the civil action was automatically stayed during the pendency of the appeal. In an effort to protect employee rights, California passed SB 365 which now gives the trial judge the discretion to stay the civil proceedings during the pendency of the appeal.

Collaboration between NLRB and OSHA

Potential impact on businesses

Published on

On October 31, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) and the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (“OSHA”) executed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that aims to promote safe and healthy workplaces and protect workers who speak out about unsafe working conditions. As a result, employers must prepare for increased safety and health enforcement efforts by both NLRB and OSHA. The goal of this collaboration is to strengthen health and safety protections for workers. Among other matters, the MOU sets forth a process for information sharing, training, and outreach between the NLRB and OSHA.

Published on

In recent years, Cal-OSHA has modified and refined heat illness prevention requirements for outdoor work areas. Now, employers will be facing new Cal-OSHA requirements for indoor work areas. In the past several months, the Cal-OSHA Board (“Board”) has issued multiple rounds of revised standards on Indoor Heat Illness Prevention, with public comment on the most recent revisions closing on November 28, 2023. The Board is scheduled to vote on the latest version in early 2024.

Pages