Posts By: Jason Resnick

Court of Appeals Rules California’s Independent Contractor Law Applies to Truckers

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has overturned an injunction that blocked the application of AB 5, California’s law governing the use of independent contractors (as to independent truckers). The lawsuit was brought by the California Truckers Association (CTA) in December 2019, just before AB 5 went into effect. It persuaded a ...

Cal/OSHA Proposes Emergency Temporary Standard Changes

Today, Cal/OSHA posted an amendment to the Emergency Temporary Standard regulation on COVID-19 (ETS). The “readoption” draft will be considered and likely approved by the Cal/OSHA Standards Board when it meets on May 20, 2021. Of note, this language now recognizes COVID-19 vaccinations as a mitigating factor in how employers manage health and safety in ...

California Department of Public Health Updated COVID-19 Guidelines

With a growing number of employees passing the fully vaccinated threshold, government regulators are actively reevaluating current health and safety standards. In keeping with the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) recently updated health and safety restrictions, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has eased quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated asymptomatic employees in…

Court Hears Arguments in Coachella Hero Pay Lawsuit

On May 14, 2021, a federal judge heard arguments in Western Growers’ lawsuit challenging the City of Coachella’s so-called “hero pay” ordinance requiring agricultural employers to pay workers an additional $4 per hour for at least 120 days. The lawsuit filed by Western Growers, California Fresh Fruit Association and Growing Coachella Valley seeks a preliminary ...

Cal/OSHA Standards Board Pumps Breaks on ETS Revisions

On May 20, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board (Board) convened a public meeting to review proposed revisions to the November 2020 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) on COVID-19 Safety in the workplace. It was anticipated that the rules would be readopted with the revisions and sent to the Office of Administrative Law for an abbreviated five-day ...

Welcome to the New Western Growers Legal Insights Newsletter

Western Growers publishes an array of quality content to keep members informed. Whether it’s the timely twice-weekly newsletter, Spotlight; hot-off-the-press Special Spotlight; the bi-monthly deep dives in the Western Grower & Shipper Magazine; practical tips for produce sellers in Produce Insights; financial markets news nuggets in the WGFS Insights; or our industry interest stories on…