California Court Upholds Insurance Commissioner’s Order to Expand FAIR Plan Coverage

In an effort to better protect homeowners, insurance coverage has been expanded and limits increased under the California FAIR Plan – the state’s insurer of “last resort.” Such was the mandate as set forth in California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s 2019 Order No. 2019-2, which has just been upheld by the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles. (Read More)

Employers Face Potentially Higher Compensation Obligations for Meal, Rest, and Recovery Breaks

Last week, the California Supreme Court issued a decision of great importance to employers statewide. In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the court ruled employees must receive premium payments at their “regular rate of pay” for missed meal, rest, and recovery breaks. (Read More)

The Immediate Future of Essential Business Travel in a Post-Covid World

The economic impact of COVID-19 across industries cannot be overstated, with the hospitality and travel spaces being among the hardest hit. In the immediate wake of the pandemic, more than 40 airlines worldwide ground to a halt, suspending entire fleets. To put an even finer point on the devastation rained down upon the aviation sector in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus, major carriers cancelled in excess of 90% of scheduled flights last year. (Read More)

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020: New Rules for Your Business

Early this year, the U.S. Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act, which included the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA or the Act). With the passage of the dramatic new set of laws came a broad range of fresh anti-money laundering obligations for banks and other financial institutions, certain private investment structures, and even federal regulators.

In the wake of this relatively recent legislation, several questions have arisen, especially with regard to compliance and the Act’s operational impacts. Many of the more significant, top-line issues are addressed here. (Read More)

Money Grab: All You Need to Know About the NCAA, Student-Athletes and Their NIL Rights

Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court made news that echoed through the halls of athletic departments of colleges and universities nationwide. While perhaps not as attention-grabbing as a trip to the Final Four or Bowl Championship Series, the high court’s ruling in NCAA v. Alston is sure to have lasting repercussions, especially to the extent it means that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) can no longer impose strict limits on education-related benefits (read: scholarships and laptops) given to student-athletes. (Read More)

Cannabis Legalization Means Opportunities for Small Businesses

Recent estimates suggest that the size of the global legal cannabis market will climb to $84 billion by 2028. This is a staggering number that spells opportunity for budding cannabusiness entrepreneurs in the U.S.

No doubt about it, with more and more states like New Mexico, New Jersey, New York and Virginia recently hopping on the legal cannabis bandwagon—and it looks to be just a matter of time before Connecticut turns green and fully legalizes weed—there’s certainly room for additional players in the legitimate cannabis space. But before any would-be cannabis operators open their doors for business, a broad range of legal issues must be considered. (Read More)

GameStop Mania May Trigger SEC Regulation

The headlines at the beginning of this year touting the ever-expanding list of GameStop paper millionaires—Redditors and its WallStreetBets group and others following in their footsteps, who bought the stock well before its meteoric rise to a record closing price of $483 per share—were soon replaced by cautionary tales of millennials who lost it all. Yes, these market players (many young and less than sophisticated investors leveraging the power of the commission-free Robinhood stock trading app) were riding high, at least temporarily, while sticking it to the hedge funds and big time institutional investors that are the subject of their collective ire. (Read More)

Cal/OSHA Reverses Course on Workplace Masking

Earlier this week, Michelman & Robinson, LLP reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board readopted Cal/OSHA’s revised COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standards (ETS). In doing so, Cal/OSHA decided to phase out physical distancing requirements and place certain conditions upon mask mandates. (Read More)

Cal/OSHA Set to Relax Certain COVID-Related Workplace Restrictions

Last Thursday (June 3) in a unanimous vote, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board readopted Cal/OSHA’s revised COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standards (ETS). These regulations as proposed phase out physical distancing requirements, but still maintain or only slightly modify many existing pandemic-related workplace restrictions. The next day (Friday, June 4), the Board stated it may refine the ETS in the coming weeks to align its mandate with California’s anticipated widespread reopening on June 15. (Read More)

Finally, Some Good Wage and Hour News for California Employers from a California Appellate Court

An appellate court in California has just issued a ruling related to wage and hour law that should be of interest (and a relief) to all employees in the state.

By way of background, Labor Code § 226 sets forth nine categories of information that must be included in wage statements. With that being said, it was broadly held last week in General Atomics v. Superior Court that an employer will not be in violation of section 226 when its wage statements allow employees to readily determine whether their wages were correctly calculated. (Read More)