California Gig-Company Workers to Remain Independent Contractors

Earlier this week, in a win for gig economy companies, a California appeals court ruled Uber, Lyft, and similar app-based ride-hailing and delivery companies can continue to classify their California drivers as independent contractors pursuant to Proposition 22. In 2020, California su
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Congress Further Eases Restrictions on Financial Institutions’ Hiring of Candidates Convicted of Certain Offenses

Under Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA), financial institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) must conduct criminal background checks on job candidates, regardless of state and local laws that restrict hiring decisions based on crimin
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Ninth Circuit Takes an Expansive View of Whistleblower Protection Under Cal. Lab. Code § 1102.5

Aaron Kilgore worked as an environmental consultant on a project his employer was completing for the U.S. Army Reserve Command. He complained to his supervisor, and to a representative from the Army, that he believed the environmental assessment he had been asked to prepare was illega
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Supreme Court Blocks OSHA Vaccine-or-Test Mandate for Large Private Employers

Today (1/13/22), the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate by enjoining OSHA’s ETS, which required employers to mandate vaccines or test unvaccinated employees weekly.  The Court found that Congress had not given federal agencies like OSHA the power to
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SCOTUS Hears Arguments on OSHA’s Vaccine-or-Test ETS

On Friday, January 7, 2022 the Supreme Court held oral arguments to address  OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard related to COVID-19.  The two-hour long arguments were intense and revealed a sharply divided court with the conservative justices questioning OSHA’s authority, and the mor
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BurnsBarton Partner, Kate King, Appointed to Arizona Supreme Court

You can read the announcement on Kate's Appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court from Governor Ducey here: https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2021/07/governor-ducey-appoints-kathryn-hackett-king-arizona-supreme-court. Read more [...]
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President Biden’s Executive Order Encourages the FTC to Limit Non-Competes

On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order targeting barriers to competition in the American economy. Believing that non-compete clauses restrict employees’ ability to change jobs and negotiate higher wages, President Biden’s executive order encourages the Federal Trad
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OSHA’s New COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard

The Department of Labor has finally released its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) for workers in healthcare settings. Managed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), the ETS goes into effect upon publication to the Federal Register, and will remain in effect
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The Safety Sensitive Exception Under Fire – Tentative Decision Challenges Well-Settled Landscape of Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act

United States District Judge Dominic Lanza issued a tentative ruling in Lee v. Albertsons LLC, 2:19-CV-04493-DWL (D. Ariz.) which challenges the “safety sensitive” exception to Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act (“AMMA”).  Lee’s case arose after Albertsons terminated Lee’s employment bec
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Recreational Marijuana – Recommendations for Arizona Employers

It is now legal for marijuana dispensaries in Arizona to sell recreational marijuana to individuals 21 years old and older, so many employers are wondering how this will impact the workplace. However, it is important to note that under Arizona’s recreational marijuana law, called the
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