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Carolyn Rashby

Carolyn Rashby provides business-focused advice and counsel to companies navigating the constantly evolving and overlapping maze of federal, state, and local employment requirements. She conducts workplace investigations and cultural assessments, leads audits regarding employee classification, wage and hour, and I-9 compliance, advises on employment issues arising in corporate transactions, and provides strategic counsel to clients on a wide range of workplace matters, including harassment and #MeToo issues, wage and hour, worker classification, employee accommodations, termination decisions, employment agreements, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, employee handbooks, and personnel policies. Her approach is preventive, while recognizing the need to set clients up for the best possible defense should disputes arise.

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California’s AB 685 Expands Employers’ COVID-19 Notification Requirements, Effective January 1

By Carolyn Rashby and Teresa Lewi on Posted in COVID-19
Effective January 1, 2021, California employers will be required under Assembly Bill (AB) 685 to provide detailed notices to employees when there is a COVID-19 case in the workplace and to notify local public health departments of COVID-19 “outbreaks” in the workplace.  California employers should begin assessing their practices now to ensure that they will … Continue Reading

California Employers Must Comply with New Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Standards

By Carolyn Rashby, Thomas Brugato and Daniel Auten on Posted in COVID-19
On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect.  The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard or those … Continue Reading

New York Employees May Begin Using New Paid Sick Leave Benefits on January 1, 2021

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby and Teresa Lewi on Posted in Employment
New York State’s new paid sick leave law (“NYSSL”) took effect on September 30, 2020, requiring employers to allow employees to begin accruing paid sick leave benefits immediately.  Employees may use their accrued leave under the NYSSL starting January 1, 2021.  In response to its state law counterpart, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio … Continue Reading

New California COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Bill Creates Disputable Presumption and New Reporting Requirements

By Carolyn Rashby, Teresa Lewi and Michelle Barineau on Posted in Employment
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 1159, which adds COVID-19-related illness or death to the list of injuries covered under the state’s workers’ compensation program and creates new employer reporting responsibilities. The law codifies and extends Executive Order N-62-20, which was issued on May 6, 2020 and created a rebuttable presumption that … Continue Reading

California Mandates COVID-19 Supplemental Sick Leave for Larger Employers

By Carolyn Rashby and Michelle Barineau on Posted in Employment
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1867, to create COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CPSL) requirements for employers with 500 or more employees, filling a gap left by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which applies only to employers with under 500 employees.  The new law also codifies existing supplemental … Continue Reading

DOL Revises FFCRA Regulations in Response to Federal Court Decision Invalidating Parts of the FFCRA

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby and Teresa Lewi on Posted in Employment
On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued revised regulations to clarify certain rights and employer responsibilities under the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  The revisions were made in response to a recent decision of the U.S. District Court … Continue Reading

Federal District Court Strikes Down DOL Joint Employer Rule

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby and Tom Plotkin on Posted in Employment
A New York federal district court judge has struck down significant portions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) joint employer rule, which went into effect earlier this year.  As a result of this ruling, certain companies may be more likely to be deemed joint employers and exposed to liability for wage and hour violations … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

By Carolyn Rashby and Teresa Lewi on Posted in Employment
In an important civil rights development, the U.S. Supreme Court today issued a 6-3 opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that gay and transgender employees are protected under the prohibition against workplace sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”).  Justice Gorsuch delivered the majority opinion, joined … Continue Reading

Ten Ways to Avoid Layoffs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby, Molly Ramsden and Tom Plotkin on Posted in COVID-19, Employment
As the COVID-19 public health crisis continues, businesses are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to operations and workforce stability. Most employers undoubtedly want to assist their employees during this uncertain time, but they are struggling to balance the cost of maintaining their workforce with shrinking profits. The frequent result of such a balancing act is a … Continue Reading

DOL Issues Final “Joint Employer” Rule

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby and Nori Lu on Posted in Employment
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has published a final rule, which takes effect on March 16, 2020, outlining the new four-factor approach DOL will use to determine whether, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), a business is a “joint employer” of another company’s employees and thus jointly and severally liable for wage and … Continue Reading

Hiring Employees vs. Independent Contractors: Navigating Classification Issues in a Drastically Altered California Legislative Landscape

By Ashley Haden, Carolyn Rashby and Jason Levy on Posted in Employment
Recently enacted California Assembly Bill 5 (“AB-5”) is a game changer for businesses that use independent contractors in California — and a warning shot for employers nationwide.  Subject to exemptions for certain occupations and professions, AB-5 imposes a strict “ABC” test that appears to put a thumb on the scale of classifying workers as employees … Continue Reading

California Bans Hairstyle Discrimination

By Carolyn Rashby and Michelle Barineau on Posted in Employment
Bolstering the state’s reputation for progressive employment legislation, California has become the first state to ban discrimination based on natural hair and protective hairstyles.  On July 3, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 188, which amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), specifying that “hair discrimination targeting hairstyles associated with … Continue Reading

DOL Labels Gig Economy Company’s Workers as Independent Contractors

By Carolyn Rashby and Michelle Barineau on Posted in Employment
On April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter finding that “virtual marketplace company” workers (of an unnamed business) were independent contractors rather than employees.  While not binding, the opinion signals that DOL is taking a less aggressive approach than in recent years to the hot-button … Continue Reading

DOL Publishes Proposal to Expand Overtime Protections

By Lindsay Burke, Carolyn Rashby and Tom Plotkin on Posted in Employment
Following two years of anticipation, after a similar but more aggressive rule was proposed by President Obama’s administration and then squashed by federal courts in Texas, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if enacted, would expand access to overtime pay for certain employees under the Fair Labor … Continue Reading

Rulings Question the Enforceability of Employee Non-Solicitation Covenants in California

By Carolyn Rashby on Posted in Employment
Over three decades ago, in Loral Corp. v. Moyes, a California Court of Appeal held that employee non-solicitation agreements, which bar former employees from soliciting the employer’s existing employees, could be enforceable.  In 2008, the California Supreme Court in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP held that non-competition agreements are unlawful restraints on trade and void … Continue Reading
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