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Labor Code 226.7 provides that an employee should receive one hour of pay as a penalty for not receiving rest or meal periods in accordance with California law. Yesterday, Governor Brown signed into law SB 435 which expands the one hour of pay penalty to missed “recovery periods.”  The new law applies to any meal,…

On September 24, 2013, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that expands the application of the Family Temporary Disability Insurance program beginning on July 1, 2014. Family Temporary Disability Insurance is also known as Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave is a paid benefit provided by California Employment Development Department (“CA EDD”)…

California Governor Brown has announced he will sign AB 10 tomorrow, in LA and Oakland, which will increase the CA state minimum wage effective July 1, 2014. See Brown’s statement: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18221. Since many employers are engaged in budgeting for 2014 and beyond, this new development should be factored into such plans.

A radio program employee who faced substantial liability arising from a tragic on-air “water drinking contest” that ended in a tragic death was named an individual defendant in the survivors’ lawsuit.  The employer offered to defend the employee with a competent attorney of its choosing.  However, the employee took the position that Labor Code section…

So asked a class of security guards who sought payment for all on-call time, including time spent on-call over weekend nights in company provided trailers.  The company did not pay them for an 8 hour period during which employees could sleep and refresh while on-call unless they were directed to conduct investigations during the on-call…

With increasing frequency, California courts (especially federal district courts) are enforcing binding arbitration agreements between employers and employees.  In Richards v. Ernst & Young, No. 11-17530 (9th Cir. Aug. 21, 2013), the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a denial of the employer’s motion to compel arbitration of the employee’s wage and hour claims.  In so…

In Harris v. City of Santa Monica, 56 Cal. 4th 203 (Cal. 2013), the California Supreme Court ruled that, to prevail in a mixed motive employment discrimination action, the employee must show that unlawful discrimination was a substantial factor motivating the adverse employment decision.  Further, in mixed motive cases, if the employer proves that…

If the California state minimum wage changes, are you ready?  Employers may need to review the salaries of certain exempt employees to ensure compliance with the minimum salary basis test under the Executive, Administrative, and Professional overtime exemptions. On September 16, 2013, AB 10, the California state minimum wage increase legislation,  was enrolled meaning…

Score one for Washington in a recent dispute between competing employers from Washington and California.  In Meras Engineering, Inc. v. CH20, Inc., a Northern District of California Court enforced a forum selection clause designating Washington as the venue for all disputes — rejecting the California parties’ argument that litigating in Washington would defeat California’s…