Articles/News

Jan 21 2021

Will Mandatory Covid Vaccinations For Employees Be Legal?

In December 2020, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 guidance to address vaccination issues.   This new EEOC guidance states that a COVID-19 vaccine is not a medical examination for purposes of the ADA, however pre-screening vaccination questions and giving the vaccine can trigger ADA regulations on disability-related inquiries and reasonable accommodations.  Under the ADA, an […]

Jan 20 2021

California Supreme Court Confirms Retroactivity of ABC Test

Language in Dynamex presaged this result.  Vazquez is also consistent with the general rule that judicial decisions are given retroactive effect.  However, because the 2018 Dynamex opinion was silent on the issue of retroactivity, some employer litigants hoped that the Court could be persuaded to treat Dynamex as an exception to the general rule of […]

Dec 15 2020

New Emergency Regulations With Covid-19 Paid Leave Benefits Enacted By Cal OSHA

Here are the key provisions: 1. The ETS applies to all employers and employees, except: a) Employees working on site but alone and with no contact with others; b) Employees when working remotely at home; c) Employees covered under the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard (CCR section 5199). 2. The ETS requires employers to have a […]

Nov 10 2020

California Passes Prop 24 Amending the California Consumer Privacy Act

The CPRA amends the CCPA and brings California’s privacy laws closer to the EU’s Regulation 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)). The CPRA will become effective on January 1, 2023, and it has a “look back” to January 2022. A Summary Of The CPRA Imposed Additional Consumer Privacy Rights And Business Obligations. Changes to the […]

Nov 5 2020

Donahue Fitzgerald Ranked in Top Tier of 2021 “Best Law Firms”

Firms included in the 2021 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, which recognizes the top 5 percent of private practicing attorneys in the U.S. Receiving a Tier 1 […]

Oct 9 2020

California Family Rights Act Expansion Impacts All Employers with Five or More Employees

CFRA now applies to private employers with five or more employees; To qualify, employees only need to have worked for the employer for a year or more and 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months. There is no longer a requirement that employees work at a location with 50 or more employees within 75 miles […]

Sep 9 2020

Yo, Trump, thanks! Berkeley artist’s ‘Yo Semite’ T-shirt sees sales spike — and copycats

“A word or short phrase cannot be copyrighted…The question then is, is there something original to her logo? There’s going to be a small amount of copyright protection. She’s got the two trees and the words written out in logs, and if someone were to copy that exactly, a court might find for her. But […]

Aug 20 2020

Donahue Fitzgerald Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America® 2021 Edition

Dawn Newton, Franchise Law Kristin A. Pace, Tax Law Merrill J. Schwartz, Corporate Law Wilfrid F. Roberge, Jr., Trusts and Estates Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. The Best Lawyers in America rankings are based solely on peer-review surveys in which tens […]

Jul 24 2020

Donahue Fitzgerald Attorneys Named 2020 Super Lawyers

Daniel B. Newbold: Estate & Trust Litigation David A. Stein: Construction Litigation Elizabeth M. Engh: Estate & Probate Jonathan McNeil Wong: Immigration Kristin A. Pace: Estate Planning & Probate Mary M. Rudser: Estate Planning & Probate Practice areas represented include estate & trust litigation, construction litigation, estate planning & probate, and immigration. The Northern California […]

Jul 16 2020

EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework Found Inadequate. SCCs Still Stand.

The Department of Commerce that administers the Privacy Shield issued a press release[2] in which they mentioned that the Department of Commerce will “continue to administer the Privacy Shield program, including processing submissions for self-certification and re-certification to the Privacy Shield Frameworks and maintaining the Privacy Shield List.” The Press release further stated that “[T]oday’s […]