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Carolyn Rashby provides business-focused advice and counsel to companies navigating the constantly evolving and overlapping maze of federal, state, and local employment requirements. She conducts workplace investigations and cultural assessments, leads audits regarding employee classification, wage and hour, and I-9 compliance, advises on employment issues arising in corporate transactions, and provides strategic counsel to clients on a wide range of workplace matters, including harassment and #MeToo issues, wage and hour, worker classification, employee accommodations, termination decisions, employment agreements, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, employee handbooks, and personnel policies. Her approach is preventive, while recognizing the need to set clients up for the best possible defense should disputes arise.
- Advised global companies on COVID-19 workplace issues, including plans for reopening.
- Led complex research and analysis regarding use of artificial intelligence in making selection decisions.
- Participated in workplace investigation involving allegations of misconduct by the CEO at major corporation.
- Advised national pharmaceutical company regarding WARN Act requirements for layoff involving remote sales employees.
- Advised entertainment company regarding California employment law compliance requirements for E-Sports player contracts.
- Provided national harassment prevention training to professional services firm.
- Advised on employment agreements for executives of major technology company.
- Guided reclassification of nonprofit’s workforce from independent contractors to employees.
- Conducted employment litigation exposure analysis in connection with acquisition of health information technology company.
Memberships and Affiliations
- National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), Labor & Employment Affinity Group Chair (2014-present)
- National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Labor & Employment PAC Outreach Co-Chair (2015-2018)
- Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA), Board Member & Executive Committee Member (2014-2016)
January 2021
Recapture of Excess COVID-19 Payroll Tax Credits Addressed in New Regs As the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, our lawyers and advisors are helping clients navigate the complex considerations that companies around the world are facing and develop plans and strategies in response. Reach out to our ...
December 10, 2020, Inside Compensation
Effective January 1, 2021, California employers will be required under Assembly Bill (AB) 685 to provide detailed notices to employees when there is a COVID-19 case in the workplace and to notify local public health departments of COVID-19 “outbreaks” in the workplace. California employers should begin assessing their practices now to ensure that they will...… ...
December 4, 2020, Inside Compensation
On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect. The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol ...
December 4, 2020, Covington Alert
On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect. The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol ...
December 1, 2020, Covington Alert
With a COVID-19 vaccine now on the horizon, employers are considering whether they can require employees to be immunized. Although mandating COVID-19 vaccination for employees will likely be permissible with some exceptions, employers will also need to grapple with a number of challenging issues, such as whether they should require the vaccination and what to do ...
November 30, 2020, Covington Alert
This International Employment Update summarises recent international employment law developments in the European Union, Germany, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
October 29, 2020, SHRM
Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about the actions employers can take when employees are not social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Burke says, “Disciplining an employee for not wearing a mask while off duty or, for example, attending large events could violate these laws. But if a jurisdiction with an off-duty law has an executive ...
October 20, 2020, Inside Compensation
In an effort to close gender and racial pay gaps, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 973 to require certain California employers to submit an annual pay data report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) starting next year. The new law largely mirrors the EEO-1 “Component 2” pay data...… Continue Reading
October 14, 2020, Covington Alert
In 2018, via Senate Bill 826 ("SB 826"), California became the first state to require corporations with outstanding shares listed on a major U.S. stock exchange and with a principal executive office in California to include women on their boards of directors.Now Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 979 ("AB 979"), which adds new Section 301.4 to the ...
October 8, 2020, Inside Compensation
New York State’s new paid sick leave law (“NYSSL”) took effect on September 30, 2020, requiring employers to allow employees to begin accruing paid sick leave benefits immediately. Employees may use their accrued leave under the NYSSL starting January 1, 2021. In response to its state law counterpart, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio...… Continue Reading
October 8, 2020, Inside Compensation
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 1159, which adds COVID-19-related illness or death to the list of injuries covered under the state’s workers’ compensation program and creates new employer reporting responsibilities. The law codifies and extends Executive Order N-62-20, which was issued on May 6, 2020 and created a rebuttable ...
October 1, 2020, Inside Compensation
Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1383 to significantly expand the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The CFRA is California’s counterpart to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and provides unpaid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks for eligible employees. The new law’s key revisions are summarized below and...… Continue Reading
September 25, 2020, Covington Alert
On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO”) establishing requirements aimed at “promoting unity in the Federal workforce,” by prohibiting workplace training on “divisive concepts,” including “race or sex stereotyping” and “race or sex scapegoating” as newly-defined in the EO. The EO is broadly ...
September 23, 2020, Inside Compensation
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1867, to create COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CPSL) requirements for employers with 500 or more employees, filling a gap left by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which applies only to employers with under 500 employees. The new law also codifies existing ...
DOL Revises FFCRA Regulations in Response to Federal Court Decision Invalidating Parts of the FFCRA
September 23, 2020, Inside Compensation
On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued revised regulations to clarify certain rights and employer responsibilities under the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The revisions were made in response to a recent decision of the U.S. District Court...… ...
September 18, 2020, Inside Compensation
A New York federal district court judge has struck down significant portions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) joint employer rule, which went into effect earlier this year. As a result of this ruling, certain companies may be more likely to be deemed joint employers and exposed to liability for wage and hour violations...… Continue Reading
Temperature Screenings: Review State Laws
September 1, 2020, SHRM
Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about the U.S. state laws regarding temperature checks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Rashby says temperature screens should be required only on days when employees are coming to a worksite, not when they are telecommuting. “Requiring temperature screenings at home may be a better approach for many businesses, including for ...
August 11, 2020, SHRM
Carolyn Rashby is quoted in SHRM regarding the travel restrictions employers can place on employees when considering the spread of COVID-19. Ms. Rashby says regulating where employees go on vacation could conflict with some state laws protecting off-duty conduct and could hurt morale. Regarding pre-travel inquiries, she says employers generally can require ...
Responding to Employees’ Spouses’ Coronavirus Concerns
July 7, 2020, SHRM
Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about obligations of employers towards employees’ spouses’ COVID-19 concerns. Ms. Rashby says if an employee says his or her spouse is worried about the employee returning to work due to the spouse’s or a family member's health issues, the employer isn't obligated to take those concerns into account unless the worker's need to care ...
June 15, 2020, Inside Compensation
In an important civil rights development, the U.S. Supreme Court today issued a 6-3 opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that gay and transgender employees are protected under the prohibition against workplace sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). Justice Gorsuch delivered the majority opinion, ...
June 10, 2020, Covington Alert
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digital transition and the adoption of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools and Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices in many areas of society. While there has been significant focus on leveraging this technology to fight the pandemic, the technology also will have broader and longer-term benefits. As the New York Times has ...
When Is Fear a Protected Reason for Not Coming to Work?
May 26, 2020, SHRM
Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about the decisions companies will have to make when employees are fearful of entering the office due to COVID-19 concerns. Ms. Rashby says after decisions about who can and can't work remotely are made and communicated, disciplining or firing employees who refuse to come in out of a generalized fear likely is permissible in many ...
May 21, 2020, Covington Alert
On May 19, OSHA issued updated guidance reinstating employers’ obligations to record work-related COVID-19 cases. The guidance takes effect May 26. OSHA had previously suspended this obligation for most employers in an April 10 enforcement discretion document, but advocates for both employers and employees have recently pressed for more robust guidance from OSHA ...
December 2020
As businesses across multiple industries and geographies prepare for reopening following COVID-19 closures, Covington is providing practical resources and guidance on the broad array of issues companies face as employees return to the workplace. Learn more in our multi-part series: Part One: Navigating the Legal Risk of Return Part Two: Potential ...
April 27, 2020, Covington Alert
Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to the workplace, but this general rule must ...
April 23, 2020, Financial Times
Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with the Financial Times about the request from U.S. businesses that seek a shield from litigation if they expose employees to COVID-19 after calling them back to work. Both Ms. Rashby and Ms. Burke note that the firm’s employment practice has been flooded with questions about how employers could minimize their legal risks ...
April 23, 2020, Bloomberg Law
Carolyn Rashby is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the increase of “work sharing,” a tool that lets employees tap into jobless benefits when their hours are reduced, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Rashby says, “Having an option to keep people employed at some reduced percentage of their hours and pay but having that option to quickly say, ‘OK we’re ready to ...
April 22, 2020, Covington Alert
Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to the workplace, but this general rule must ...
April 22, 2020, Law360
Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby are quoted in Law360 regarding legal dangers and logistical challenges associated with reopening businesses in the U.S. Ms. Burke says, “We're in a lot of new territory here. I don't think any employers in modern history have had to return to operations in the middle of a global health crisis. And so we're really trying to ...
April 21, 2020, Covington Alert
Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen its doors in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must ...
April 21, 2020, Bloomberg Law
Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with Bloomberg Law about the uphill battle employees who contract COVID-19 on the job may face if they choose to sue their employer. Ms. Burke says, “We’re in territory we haven’t seen before. We are looking at a whole lot of different legal risks and issues. It’s not clear how they will play out. Traditionally an illness ...
April 17, 2020, Covington Alert
Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen its doors in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must ...
April 16, 2020, Covington Alert
Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must be ...
April 8, 2020, Covington Alert
Employers are facing new challenges in responding to COVID-19 and its implications for their workplaces in the United States. The checklist below will assist in thinking through the issues most likely to need attention in the immediate future. Information, agency guidance, and potential responses to COVID-19 are changing rapidly. This checklist was last updated ...
March 25, 2020, Covington Alert
In light of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA") and New York State’s sick leave law, both of which were signed on March 18, 2020, many New York employers will need to be prepared to comply with their new federal and state sick leave obligations to employees impacted by COVID-19. As discussed in a prior client alert, the FFCRA requires ...
March 24, 2020, Covington Alert
As the COVID-19 public health crisis continues, U.S. businesses are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to operations and workforce stability. Most employers undoubtedly want to assist their employees during this uncertain time, but they are struggling to balance the cost of maintaining their workforce with shrinking profits. The frequent result of such a ...
March 19, 2020, Covington Alert
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201 (the “Act”) in response to the pressing economic concerns arising from the spread of COVID-19. The Senate passed the House bill, as modified by the House on March 16, without change. For private-sector employers with fewer than 500 employees and certain ...
August 2019, Covington Alert
The ECJ ruled on 14 May 2019 (C-55/18) that Member States must take measures to ensure that employers comply with the minimum rest periods and prevent workers from working in excess of the weekly maximum working hours, including introducing an "objective, reliable and accessible system" to measure daily working time.
Workplace Culture and Harassment Red Flags and Lessons Learned
June 6, 2019
This webinar discussed the importance of workplace culture and best practices to reduce the risk of a toxic work environment. Topics included the current landscape employers are facing, why culture in the workplace matters, warning signs of an unhealthy workplace culture, and the legislative response to the #MeToo movement.
#MeToo & More: Addressing Sexual Harassment and other Workplace Issues
June 2019, National Restaurant Association -- Financial Officers, Tax Executives & Internal Auditors Executive Study Group
Board Oversight of Corporate Culture
June 2019, Society for Corporate Governance -- National Conference
February 2019, Covington Alert
This International Employment Update summarises recent international employment law developments in China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Artificial Intelligence in Employment Webinar
November 13, 2018
The webinar focused on how AI and other innovative technologies are revolutionizing how we work, from sophisticated algorithms and gamification that inform recruiting and hiring, to wearables that provide precision metrics to enhance employee performance and safety, to robots that “think” and “sense” like workers.
#MeToo Spurs New California Workplace Harassment Protections and Gender Equality on Corporate Boards
October 24, 2018, Covington Alert
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a number of landmark bills aimed at strengthening sexual harassment protections in the workplace and boosting gender equality in the boardroom. Here is an overview of the new statutes; unless otherwise specified, they take effect on January 1, 2019.
48 Hours: Responding Effectively to Public Allegations of Misconduct in the C-Suite
October 2018, Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel -- All Hands Meeting
Guarding Your Treasure: Mitigating Trade Secret Risks
October 2018, Covington Life Sciences Symposium
Brave New World: Navigating Employment Law When Expanding Globally
August 2018, California HR Conference
Best Practices to Prevent Harassment
April 2018, San Francisco Gender Equity Challenge Forum
Best Practices for the #MeToo Era
March 2018, Association of Corporate Counsel San Francisco-Bay Area
May 31, 2017, Bloomberg BNA
You Look Fabulous! The Hidden Risks of Wearable Technology in the Workplace
March 2017, NCHRA HR West Conference
July 2015, CalChamber California Employer Update
April 2015, ACC Docket
January 2015, Daily Journal
- Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award, Justice & Diversity Center Legal Services Program, Bar Association of San Francisco (2012-2017)

COVID-19: Legal and Business Toolkit
We are helping clients around the world navigate this evolving, complex situation.

COVID-19 Return to Workplace Resource Guide
Covington is providing practical resources and guidance on the broad array of issues companies face as employees return to the workplace.