Wage and Hour

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Holding that “hours worked” under California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order No. 4-2001 (“Wage Order 4”) include all time spent at the employer’s workplace and under the employer’s control, such as sleep time, the California Supreme Court has ruled that security guards were entitled to compensation for all on-call time, including…

On December 16, 2014, the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association filed suit in federal court seeking to enjoin the City of Los Angeles from implementing the new Hotel Workers Act, which would put in place one of the nation’s highest minimum wages, targeted specifically to hotel workers in the largest hotels. The Act raises the hourly minimum wage for large-hotel workers in Los Angeles to $15.37. Hotels with more than 300 rooms would need to comply beginning July 2015, while hotels with at least 150 rooms will have another year to comply.
Continue Reading Los Angeles Minimum Wage Increase for Hotel Workers May Have Far Reaching Implications

San Francisco has enacted an ordinance designed to require large retail chains to provide more predictability to their workers.  The ordinance, entitled the “Predictable Scheduling and Fair Treatment for Formula Retail Employees Ordinance,” will become operative on July 5, 2015.  You can access a copy of the ordinance here: San Francisco Ordinance-Amended-111814.

The ordinance will apply to retail sales establishments that have 20 or more employees in San Francisco, have 20 or more establishments worldwide, and maintain two or more of the following features: a standardized array of merchandise, a standardized façade, a standardized décor and color scheme, uniform apparel, standardized signage, or a trademark or servicemark.
Continue Reading San Francisco Enacts So-Called “Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights”

Waiting to go through a security screening and then being screened is not compensable time under federal wage-hour law, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a case issued today (December 9).  But don’t expect California courts to interpret California law in the same way.

In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, the Court unanimously ruled that when hourly employees waited for and then went through an antitheft security screen at Amazon.com warehouses, they were engaged in “noncompensable postliminary activities” under the federal Portal-to Portal Act because the screenings “were not the ‘principal activity or activities which [the] employee is employed to perform.’”   The ruling reversed a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Continue Reading Security Screening Time Need Not Be Paid, SCOTUS Rules – Expect California Law to Differ

The required compensation levels for employees exempt from overtime rate of pay requirements under the California computer software professional exemption will increase by 2.2 percent from current levels beginning January 1, 2015, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has announced.

This means that the minimum hourly rate of pay necessary to qualify for the…

On October 28, 2014, a California Court of Appeal held that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) does not preempt California’s meal and rest break requirements as applied to motor carriers.  [Godfrey v. Oakland Port Services Corp. (Cal. App. Ct. Oct. 28, 2014) Case No. A139274.]

In Godfrey, the plaintiffs…

A City of Oakland ballot measure increasing the minimum wage for most employees, requiring paid sick leave and mandating payment of employer-levied service charges to employees has passed with over 80 percent of the vote. Measure FF’s provisions raising the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave will go into effect March 2, 2015; the provision tendering payment of service charges takes effect 10 days after the Oakland City Council formally declares the election results. 

Minimum Wage Increase

Employees working at least two hours per week within the City of Oakland must be paid at least $12.25 an hour for all such work beginning March 2, 2015. Each January 1 thereafter, the required minimum wage will be adjusted for inflation. 
Continue Reading Oakland, California, Passes Minimum Wage, Paid Sick Leave, Hospitality Service Charges Measure

The San Diego City Council passed an Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance (“Ordinance”) for the City of San Diego earlier this year. The Ordinance was planned to take effect in January 2015 and April 2015 for the minimum wage increase and earned sick leave requirements, respectively. For more information on the Ordinance, please click here.
Continue Reading UPDATE: San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance Provisions On Hold, To Go To Popular Vote

Jim Irving, a former employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District, was fired for falsifying time records on at least four occasions. Irving admitted he did not take his breaks at the locations or at the times specified by his employer, exceeded his allotted break time, and deliberately filled out his time sheets to hide his violations.

Irving filed for unemployment compensation benefits. The Employment Development Department initially granted benefits. However, the Unemployment Appeals Board (“Board”) held an administrative hearing and denied benefits.  The Board found that Irving had been informed when he was hired of the district policy concerning the duration of breaks and where they could be taken. He also signed a written acknowledgement that explained the policy. According to the Board, Irving’s violations were documented by the global positioning system in the trucks he drove for the district. Based on Irving’s admissions and other evidence, the Board concluded that Irving “falsely recording his times and locations for each of the 10 days on the district’s time records.” Consequently, Irving was discharged for “misconduct” that rendered him ineligible for benefits.
Continue Reading Falsification of Time Sheets for Breaks was Misconduct Under Unemployment Insurance Code

In special session on July 14, 2014, the San Diego City Council voted 6-3 in favor of enacting the San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance. The ordinance seeks to raise the San Diego minimum wage over the next three years, and mandates that employers within San Diego provide a minimum amount of earned paid sick leave, beyond that required by recently enacted California state law AB 1522 [click here for information regarding the requirements of AB 1522].

Although San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer vetoed the ordinance August 8, 2014, the San Diego City Council overrode the veto on August 18.
Continue Reading San Diego Enacts Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance