Cal-Peculiarities 2019 | HOW CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW IS DIFFERENT SEYFARTH SHAW LLP About Our Cover Yes, we know: California is a contiguous part of the North American continent. Yet seventeenth-century mapmakers saw it otherwise. When they outlined the western contours of our region, they extended the Gulf of California far north, to make California appear as a yam-shaped island in the Pacific Ocean. If such maps are now historical oddities, they still reflect the persistent view that California is a world apart. Carey McWilliams explored this theme in his 1946 classic, Southern California: An Island on the Land. He argued that Southern California is, metaphorically, an island in profound cultural ways. Much the same is true of California writ large when it comes to labor and employment law. So while early maps were cartographically incorrect, their symbolism remains powerful. Any picture of California as an island apart is especially vivid as of 2019. While the executive branch of our national government remains generally more friendly toward business, every branch of California’s government is extraordinarily solicitous to the interests of employees, labor unions, and the plaintiffs’ bar. So much for the island. What about the star and the grizzly bear? Discerning readers will recall that these figures adorn our state flag, where they appear above the logo “California Republic.” All these features harken back to 1846, when American settlers in Mexican Alta California staged the Bear Flag Revolt to declare a republic independent from Mexico. (The star and logo pay homage to the Lone Star Republic of Texas, which broke free of Mexico in 1836.) The California rebels got lucky: the Mexican-American War soon intervened to dislodge the California territory from Mexican control. California, in 1850, became our thirty-first state. The legacy of the Bear Flag Revolt continues today: fiercely independent state politicians—especially since the 2016 election—have proclaimed California’s right to chart its own course on such vital matters as the environment, health care, immigration, and the right to use marijuana. And perhaps nowhere is Californian independence more prominent than in the area of employment law. Federal labor law hit high tide in the 1930s, with the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The high tide returned in the 1960s—bringing us the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act—and returned yet again in the 1990s, bringing us the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. In the Golden State, meanwhile, the waves of employment regulation have risen ever higher, even while federal regulations have ebbed. This book highlights differences between federal and California law in key areas of interest to employers that operate both in California and in the rest of America. In virtually every case, the California version more heavily favors employees, plaintiffs, and labor unions, at the expense of business. The point, of course, is that companies used to doing business elsewhere can find California employment law a real bear. Hence our cover. Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com 2019 Cal-Peculiarities | i Authors’ Note At annual intervals since the turn of this century, we’ve cataloged how California law deviates from prevailing American labor and employment law. The result—this steadily growing volume—summarizes legislative, judicial, and regulatory developments that have made California a uniquely challenging environment for private employers. (We do not address special challenges facing public employers or government contractors.) We highlight these California peculiarities to help corporate counsel and human resources professionals avoid legal pitfalls, without treating what is provided here as the final word (a point emphasized in the disclaimer that follows). This 2019 edition contains contributions from many Seyfarth lawyers, all members or friends of our California Workplace Solutions Group: Rachel Abanonu, Michael Afar, Nabeel Ahmad, Pantea Ahmadi, Brian Ashe, Nicole Baarts, Jeff Berman, Candace Bertoldi, Holger Besch, Dan Birnbaum, Jonathan Brophy, Bob Buch, Debbie Caplan, Mehga Charalambides, Caitlyn Crisp, Chris Crosman, Justin Curley, Catherine Dacre, Phillip Ebsworth, Chantelle Egan, Pam Devata, Tim Fisher, Lindsay Fitch, Kerry Friedrichs, Amanda Fry, Nick Geannacopulos, Rachel Gradstein, Mattt Graffigna, Jaclyn Gross, Carrie Grove, Minal Haymond, Josh Henderson, Christine Hendrickson, Ari Hersher, Gaye Hertan, Eric Hill, Timothy Hix, Timothy Hoppe, Dana Howells, Christopher Im, Jessica Jensen, Gregory Kantor, Michael Kopp, Namrata Kotwani, Kristina Launey, Lara Levine, Paul Leaf, Patty Lee, Lauren Leibovitch, Elizabeth Levy, Leo Li, Eric Lloyd, Brian Long, Allison Loomis, Zaher Lopez, Aaron Lubeley, Laura Maechtlen, Elizabeth MacGregor, Eric May, Ryan McCoy, Chelsea Mesa, Robert Milligan, Jennifer Mora, Ilana Morady, Jennifer Murikami, Jennifer Nunez, Meagan O’Dell, Angelo Paparelli, Beth Pelliconi, Kristen Peters, Dana Peterson, Jamie Pollaci, Jill Porcaro, Monica Rodriguez, David Rosenberg, Eric Ruehe, Timothy Rusche, Michelle Scannell, Joshua Salinas, Sam Schwartz-Fenwick, Emily Schroeder, Josh Seidman, Tatyana Shmygol, Joan Smiles, Jared Speier, Michael Stevens, Pritee Thakarsey, Tiffany Tran, Christopher Truxler, Coby Turner, Annette Tyman, Ryan Tzeng, Parnian Vafaeenia, Pamela Vartabedian, Bethany Vasquez, Jinouth Vasquez Santos, Myra Villamor, Olivia Wada, Michael Wahlander, Elisabeth Watson, Geoffrey Westbrook, Shireen Wetmore, Daniel Whang, Mason Winters, Simon Yang, Julie Yap, Fontaine Yuk, and Ann Marie Zaletel. To keep up with the latest peculiarities of California employment law, please subscribe to Seyfarth’s award- winning California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog: www.calpeculiarities.com/subscribe. David Kadue and Colleen Regan, Co-Editors in Chief Important Disclaimer We have been representative, not exhaustive, in cataloging California peculiarities. This book is general commentary, not legal advice. We disclaim liability as to anything done or omitted in reliance on this publication. Readers should refrain from acting on any discussion in this publication without obtaining specific advice applying current law to particular circumstances. Thus, while we aim to provide authoritative information, this book is not legal advice. (From A Declaration of Principles adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.) Legal Notice Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved. Apart from fair use for private study or research permitted under copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the prior written permission of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com 2019 Cal-Peculiarities | ii Table of Contents About Our Cover ....................................................................................................................... i Authors’ Note ................................................................................................................................................... ii Important Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................................ ii Legal Notice ..................................................................................................................................................... ii Glossary ................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 “Bounty Hunter” or “Sue Your Boss” Lawsuits ....................................................................................................3 Leaves .................................................................................................................................................................4 Employee Privacy—Protected Activities and Confidential Information ...............................................................4 Arbitration Agreements ........................................................................................................................................5 Litigation Issues ...................................................................................................................................................5 Immigrant Workers ..............................................................................................................................................6 Discrimination ......................................................................................................................................................7 Disability Discrimination ......................................................................................................................................7 Age Discrimination ..............................................................................................................................................7 Harassment .........................................................................................................................................................7 National Origin Discrimination .............................................................................................................................8