On October 10, 2019, Governor Newsom approved Senate Bill 142, thereby broadening the scope of existing accommodations for lactating employees. For some employers, this development will require considerable changes to existing policies and practices governing lactation in the workplace. 

The False Claims Act (FCA) is designed to deter abuse and fraud of government benefits or contracts by private parties. Whenever a person or company contracts to provide services to the government or government beneficiaries, the FCA imposes liability on any contractor or business that knowingly presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval.

In the final days of the legislative session, the California Assembly passed and Governor Newsom signed into law a number of amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), two of which will impact California employers and provide at least a slight reprieve from compliance with some of the more onerous aspects of the CCPA.

The Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Aseracare, Inc., No. 16-13004 (11th Cir. Sept. 9, 2019) makes clear that reasonable minds can disagree in the exercise of clinical judgment without constituting actionable fraud in medical certifications for reimbursement by Medicare.

On October 9, 2019, the White House issued two Executive Orders (EOs) that clarify how federal agencies can use guidance documents. These new presidential directives follow the release of new policies issued on August 6 by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water that also take aim at informal or draft policy documents.

In California, all non-exempt employees are generally allowed to take an uninterrupted thirty minute meal period and two rest periods during an eight hour shift. If an employee is unable to take a compliant meal or rest period, then California law requires the employer to pay the employee a premium of one hour’s wages at the “regular rate of compensation”. 

On October 3, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a narrow victory to insurers with its 5-4 decision in In Keodalah v. Allstate Ins. Co. and Tracey Smith, 95867-0 (Wn. App. 2018), holding that employee claims adjusters cannot be held individually liable for bad faith or violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.

If a company is merely a leasing service for any type of vehicle, it typically cannot be held personally liable for accidents caused by the renters of such vehicles. This is because, on August 10, 2005, President Bush signed into law the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005,” colloquially referred to as the Graves Amendment.