Insights

New Orleans – June 16, 2021: Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), a Louisiana-based grassroots organization founded and run by formerly incarcerated people, and Advancement Project, a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization, along with Crowell & Moring LLP, celebrated the enactment of Act 127 – H.B. 378 in Louisiana, which was signed into law on June 10, 2021. The bill will ensure that individuals sentenced only to probation will not lose their voting rights due to a felony conviction, and will prevent government officials from expending unnecessary resources to suspend voting rights, and then having to work to restore them for people who should not have been suspended from voter rolls in the first place. More than 30,000 people are currently estimated to be on probation in Louisiana, and the new law will help additional people each year as new individuals are sentenced to probation.

Los Angeles – July 16, 2020: The Department of Homeland Security reversed its directive that would have forced international students to leave the United States if they were enrolled in only online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Crowell & Moring worked with the University of California to file a lawsuit against the federal government and motion for injunctive relief, joining other universities making similar moves.

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional (under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, as to public institutions) and a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as applicable to private institutions accepting federal financial assistance) for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in the admissions process. See Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., No. 20-1199, 2023 WL 4239254 (U.S. June 29, 2023) (“Harvard”), a summary of which can be found here. This decision upended decades of precedent and has caused employers in the private sector to ask how the decision will impact diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”) initiatives and employment decisions. This article addresses the impact of Harvard, eight months later.

On January 18, 2024 in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc. (Cal., Jan. 18, 2024, No. S274340) 2024 WL 188863, the California Supreme Court resolved a split in authority among the California Courts of Appeal regarding whether or not trial courts have the inherent authority to dismiss Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claims due to unmanageability. The Supreme Court held that trial courts do not have this authority, and instead must address manageability concerns by using the variety of “tools” at their disposal, such as placing limitations on testimony and types of evidence and using representative testimony and surveys.

Effective January 1, 2024, California employees will be entitled to accrue and use more paid sick leave per year.  On October 4, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 616 into law, which amends the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (“HWHFA”) and significantly expands paid sick leave requirements for employers in California.  Further, non-construction industry employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), previously excluded from coverage, will now be entitled to certain benefits and protections under the HWHFA.  The amendment also preempts local ordinances that are contrary to the HWHFA with respect to certain issues, for example, rate and timing of pay, and advance leave and notice.

Please join us for the next edition of Third Thursday – Crowell & Moring’s Labor and Employment Update, a webinar series dedicated to helping our clients stay on top of developing law and emerging compliance issues.

Employment law in California is constantly evolving, and 2022 was no different. Please join us on Thursday, January 19, 2023 for a complimentary one-hour webinar addressing several of the most important changes in California employment law from 2022.

Please join members of Crowell & Moring’s Labor & Employment group for an update on the potential impact of the Biden Administration’s policies and priorities for U.S. employers. Our panel will review new senior presidential appointments, pending congressional legislation, and other regulatory developments.