A lis pendens is a powerful legal tool, which unfortunately is often misunderstood by professionals and lay persons alike. It does not prevent the sale or transfer of title to real property, does not make such transfers void or even technically encumber real property. It simply gives notice to the world of a pending legal action involving real property. Latin for ‘suit pending’, use of the term lis pendens is a holdover from legal concepts first conceived in ancient Rome. Modernly, the terms ‘notice of pendency of action’ or even ‘notice of pending action’ while still clumsy, are more readily recognized. Giving notice of a pending legal action can be essential to effectively safeguarding real property during litigation, despite the awkward language.

The state of California has selected the inaugural board members of the new California Privacy Protection Agency approved by California voters during the November 2020 election. The new board members come from a variety of backgrounds, including private legal practice, academia, and nonprofits.

Scali Rasmussen Shareholder Monica Baumann has been selected as an honoree in the Los Angeles Business Journal special supplement recognizing the city's most influential women attorneys. The Journal's Publisher and CEO Josh Schimmels writes, "Los Angeles is truly a national leader when it comes to influential women – and the field of law is no exception." The women named in the special issue "have been recognized for exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large."

In the wake of AB1513, which requires piece-rate employees to be separately compensated for rest, recovery, and nonproductive time, many dealers and other employers moved to weekly pay periods to more easily account for overtime, rest breaks, and the like at the correct rates. While this change is the right move from a compliance standpoint, in the event any wage and hour violations nevertheless accrue, it results in much higher penalties under PAGA – the Private Attorney General Act – which counts penalties every pay period in which a violation occurs.

The California Attorney General adopted new regulations in March that may require changes to how businesses are communicating to consumers about their rights under the CCPA. These regulations are aimed at practices that the Attorney General’s office views as unfair to consumer and has pursued in enforcement letters to companies to date. Every company doing business in California that must comply with the CCPA should review its communication to customers about the CCPA.

On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law an extension of paid COVID-19 sick leave. This type of leave is in addition to other types of sick leave generally provided by employers. While the law passed in March, it is retroactive back to January 1, 2021 as of March 29, 2021. We have provided the following Frequently Asked Questions and answers.

With the Biden administration moving forward with naming its leaders of important enforcement agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), dealers should expect to see an increase in enforcement actions targeting F&I departments. Dealer lending participation and voluntary protection products are likely to receive scrutiny from the CFPB, while the FTC is likely to continue pushing forward sweeping proposed amendments to its Safeguards Rule that governs data security regulations.

Certain employers now have a new reporting requirement in California and the deadline is the end of this month. A new law passed in 2020, SB 973 (codified as Government Code section 12999), requires that certain private employers report pay and hours-worked data by establishment, job category, sex, race and ethnicity to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) by March 31, 2021. This is an annual requirement meant to encourage employers to review, consider, and correct their pay disparities. This law also authorizes the DFEH to enforce the Equal Pay Act (Labor Code section 1197.5) which prohibits unjustified differences in pay between races, genders, etc.

On February 27, 2021 and March 6, 2021 the House and Senate, respectively, passed versions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, both of which extend the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act’s (FFCRA) tax credit for paid leave related to COVID-19. While the FFCRA mandatory leave provision expired December 31, 2020, Congress previously extended the employer tax credits for voluntarily providing such leave to March 31, 2021. There are differences between the House and Senate versions of the American Rescue Plan Act that must be reconciled, but if the extension survives that process it will mean qualified employers may take a credit for paid leave under the same terms as in the FFCRA.

The passage by the voters in November 2020 of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) by initiative is a significant development for all businesses with activity in California. It expands upon the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), creating additional rights for consumers and obligations for businesses. It also creates the first state agency in the state dedicated to privacy, the California Privacy Protection Agency (Agency).