Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“L.A. Public Health”) announced that all outdoor and indoor dining at restaurants, breweries and wineries will be restricted, effective November 25, 2020 at 10:00 p.m., while take-out, drive thru, and delivery services may continue (“Order”).
Continue Reading Los Angeles County Restricts In-Person Dining Due to Surge in COVID-19 Cases
Women often pay more than men for similar goods and services. A shampoo for men may be nearly identical in chemical makeup to a shampoo for women, but the woman will pay more. This phenomenon is referred to as the “pink tax” – products marketed to women cost more than their counterparts marketed to men. Recent data analyzing toys, clothing, personal care products and home health products shows that: (1) products targeted at women are higher-priced than those targeted at men 42% of the time; and (2) of those items more expensive for women, the prices are an average of 7% higher.[1] The pink tax thus places a direct cost on individuals who purchase products marketed to women.
Continue Reading NY’s Gendered Pricing Law: Will It Curb the Pink Tax
Governor Gavin Newsom of California vetoed a bill that would have created new limitations on data sharing for direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies.
Continue Reading California Governor Pulls the Plug on Genetic Information Privacy Act
As we previously reported, among the sweeping pieces of legislation signed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was New York State’s permanent sick leave law (“NYSPSL”). Under NYSPSL, all New York State employers are required to provide sick leave. Eligible employees may begin accruing sick leave as of September 30, 2020, but are not entitled to use any accrued sick leave pursuant to this law until January 1, 2021.
Continue Reading Reminder: Accrual Requirements Under New York State’s New Paid Sick Leave Law Effective September 30, 2020
On September 28, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill into law significantly amending the New York City Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (“ESSTA”) in order to better align with New York State’s new paid sick leave law (the “NYS Leave Law”). Like its state law counterpart, the amendments to ESSTA (the “ESSTA Amendments”) takes effect on September 30, 2020. As discussed in greater detail below, the ESSTA Amendments: (i) revise the amount of leave that New York City employers are required to provide; (ii) impose new employer reporting requirements; (iii) create new employer reimbursement obligations in connection with requested medical documentation and/or documentation regarding domestic violence; (iv) expand the scope of prohibited retaliation under the law; (v) impose new notice requirements; and (vi) expand enforcement mechanisms.
Continue Reading NYC Employers Take Note: Earned Sick and Safe Time Act Amendments Take Effect September 30, 2020
Most employers are expected to pass on the IRS’ offer to temporarily delay collecting Social Security taxes. For background, both employers and employees are generally required to pay a Social Security tax at a flat rate of 6.2% (for a total of 12.4%) on all wages. In a separate article from our Corporate and Securities Blog, we discussed how the CARES Act allows employers to delay paying the employer’s portion of Social Security taxes.
Continue Reading To Defer or Not Defer? IRS Issues Guidance Temporarily Delaying the Collection of Social Security Taxes
In prior posts (here and here), we raised questions that companies may want to ask when evaluating their arbitration clauses and making changes to them. In this third installment, we look at what companies should be doing to ensure that they can present proof of their arbitration agreements if ever required to do so in court. Your company may have a perfect arbitration clause, but if a customer claims never to have signed the arbitration agreement or not to have seen the website providing notice of the terms and conditions, you will have to present evidence that the customer is wrong.
Continue Reading Avoiding Formation Challenges To Your Arbitration Clause With Consumers
Given the prevalence of trade secret misappropriation litigation among members of the fashion, beauty, and retail industry, those in that industry should (1) take care to protect their trade secrets from misuse by others and (2) consider steps to try to reduce the risk of misappropriation claims against them by others. Both situations – loss of a valuable trade secret and burdensome litigation – can be devastating to a business. We offer here some potential measures that businesses can take to attempt to avoid such undesirable situations.
Continue Reading Members Of The Fashion and Retail Industry: Trade Secret Claims Are In Vogue These Days
Arbitration clauses with class action waivers remain one of the most effective tools that consumer-facing companies can employ to fend off consumer class action litigation. Yet many companies stumble both in getting their customers to agree to the arbitration clause and in drafting a clause that captures all claims that they might face. As we continue to work, shop, and engage with the world from home, companies should perform a quick “health-check” of their arbitration clause, asking themselves at least the following questions:
Continue Reading An Arbitration Clause Health Check
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020, provides relief to corporate and non-corporate taxpayers by expanding the permitted use of net operating losses (“NOLs”).
Continue Reading NOL 5-Year Carryback and 100 Percent Offset Available Under The Cares Act