Starting January 1st, 2024 California employers will be required to offer increased sick hours, increase availability of sick pay to newer workers, allow additional roll-over or carry over of hours, and allow a higher cap on total sick time accrued. The new rules are contained in SB 616, signed into law on October 4th, 2023.

Two laws, SB 699 and AB 1076, amend existing California law limiting the enforcement of non-compete agreements and non-compete clauses. California employment law has maintained a dim view of non-compete agreements, and the new laws further cement this position. 

SB 848 adds a new type of protected leave after a California workers experiences a loss of pregnancy or other reproductive loss event.  The law allows for up to 5 days of leave for events covered under the new law. 

Binance Holdings Limited, the company that operates Binance.com, pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to pay a total of $4.3 billion in penalties. The settlement is to resolve ongoing investigations regarding allegations Binance failed to register as a money transmitting business and for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that broadened the scope of the New York False Claims Act (NYFCA). This expansion targets entities that fail to file tax returns in New York state. This is different from the federal False Claims Act, and most False Claims Acts in other states, where tax-based claims are excluded. It also separates New York from States that allow tax-related claims, but only for false claims within submitted documents. States maintaining tax-related False Claim Act matters include Illinois, Indiana, the District of Columbia and New York. 

On August 4th, 2023, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court summary judgement in favor of the defendant AT&T Benefit Plan Investment Committee (AT&T), regarding a class action alleging Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations from prohibited fees. The Plaintiffs are being represented by Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP.

The California Department of Industrial Relations maintains a database of wage theft claims presented to the office by employees, and wage claim judgments against individuals and corporations. We have reviewed this database for judgments from July 1st through September 30th, the third quarter of 2023. California reported 678 judgments for the 3rd quarter of 2023, data as of September 14th, 2023. The total value of all judgments was $19,124,997. 

Serious injuries bring more than immediate physical and emotional distress, they also lead to financial challenges that can last a lifetime. The initial impact is felt through substantial medical bills for immediate treatment and ongoing healthcare needs, often compounded by the loss of income if the injured individual is unable to return to work for an extended period, if at all. The situation becomes even more challenging when considering long-term implications such as the need for rehabilitation, home modifications, and continuous medical care. Non-economic costs like emotional and psychological support further add to financial burdens. The injured person and their family might require counseling and other mental health services to cope with the trauma and temporary or permanent changes to their life and lifestyle. For families, this scenario creates a pressing need to secure financial stability, not just for the immediate expenses but also for unforeseen costs that will arise over time. 

California is the largest state in the country by population, and has an equally large and diverse set of transportation infrastructure. Given their vast responsibility, each year there are numerous lawsuits regarding failures of Caltrans or local MTAs to adhere to their own guidelines, local law, or state law regarding the maintenance and operation of shared infrastructure. While data on total Caltrans settlements and verdicts is not readily publicly available, the California State Controller maintains a list of MTA budgets including their total yearly expenses for “Casualty and Liability Expenses” (lawsuits and injuries). Across two fiscal years, 2021 and 2022, the state MTAs collectively had total casualty and liability expenses of $436,275,000.

The Department of Justice issued a number of press releases over the last month, summarizing multiple False Claim Act and Qui Tam settlements. The False Claim Act was the nation’s first whistleblower law, intended to combat fraud against the government.  

The False Claims Act was updated to add additional penalties and protections including the addition of whistleblower rewards.  Rewards of up to 30% of the eventual fine or fee paid by bad actors could be awarded to the whistleblower who reported the fraud. 

The California Department of Industrial Relations maintains a database of wage theft claims presented to the office by employees, and Wage Claim Judgments against individuals and corporations. We have reviewed this database for judgments from April 1st to June 30th, the second quarter of 2023. When a wage claim judgment occurs, the information about the defendant, the amount, and their industry is made public. When a wage claim is filed, the Labor Commissioner’s Office investigates the claim and publicly shares information about the name of the organization, the date of the claim, and again information categorizing the company or work by industry and location. 

The United States Department of Justice and the California Attorney General each sent print releases on June 21st, 2023, noting a large $3.8m settlement with a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, California. The facility and their management company have agreed to the settlement to end litigation where they are alleged to have submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) by paying physicians for referrals. These referral payments are alleged by the US and CA governments to be illegal kickbacks. The companies admitted no liability in the settlement. The U.S. Department of Justice press release noted that the settlement amount was in part based on the defendant’s ability to pay.