Our 2023 Retail Industry Year in Review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments, issues, and trends impacting retailers, as well as a look ahead at what to expect in 2024. We hope you will take a few minutes to review our new publication released last week.

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On January 10, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued the “Final Rule” that modifies the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule will take effect on March 11, 2024.
Continue Reading More Employees! New Rule Makes It Harder to Classify Workers as Independent Contractors

Last year was another remarkable year for the retail industry. We continue to partner with our retail clients through these extraordinary times, striving to provide top-notch, innovative legal solutions and insight. Published yesterday, our 2022 Retail Industry Year in Review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments, issues, and trends impacting retailers, as well as a look ahead at what to expect in 2023.
Continue Reading 2022 Retail Industry Year in Review

In a significant win for employers operating businesses utilizing delivery drivers, on November 29, 2022, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held in Immediato v. Postmates, Inc. that couriers completing local, intrastate deliveries were not exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and could be compelled to submit to arbitration, because they were not engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.
Continue Reading First Circuit Holds Local Delivery Drivers Are Subject to the FAA

In an August 2022 decision, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, held that retail websites without any connection to a physical space, such as a brick-and-mortar store, do not constitute “places of public accommodation” and, thus, are not within the purview of Title III of the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) or the Unruh Civil Rights Act (the “Unruh Act”).
Continue Reading California Court of Appeal Narrows Reach of ADA and Unruh Civil Rights Act as They Apply to Ecommerce Businesses

Across the country, it seems there is a renewed interest in organized labor and workers’ wages, both from the public generally and the federal government.  As it always has been, the retail space remains a likely proving ground for union activity and agency enforcement. 
Continue Reading DOL, NLRB Will Collaborate on Investigations, Share Information

In the retail industry, staff shortages caused by COVID-19 exposure and positive cases can significantly disrupt business operations, particularly during this time of unprecedented turnover and resignations in the retail labor market.  During this latest surge in COVID-19 cases, retail employers should be aware of recent changes in federal, state, and local guidance related to COVID-19 isolation and quarantine requirements.
Continue Reading California Adopts New CDC Guidance Regarding Quarantine and Isolation Periods With Its Own Twists

In a major win for retailers operating in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts highest court determined, among other things, that the so-called ABC independent contractor test is not the correct metric to determine join employer status.
Continue Reading Massachusetts High Court Rules “ABC” Test Is Inapplicable To Joint Employer Status

On September 15, 2021, a divided Ninth Circuit panel in Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, Case No. 20-15291, upheld Assembly Bill 51, a bill that would prohibit employers from requiring employees to execute arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment.  The Ninth Circuit’s ruling reversed in part the District Court’s ruling that AB 51 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. 
Continue Reading Divided Ninth Circuit Panel Upholds AB 51, but Strikes Down Enforcement Mechanism