In Sharif v. Mehusa, Inc., (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Oct. 14, 2015) 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 897, plaintiff brought three claims for unpaid overtime, unpaid wages, and violation of California’s Equal Pay Act against her former employer. At trial, plaintiff only succeeded on her Equal Pay Act claim and was awarded $26,300. As the prevailing party under the Equal Pay Act claim, plaintiff filed a motion for attorney’s fees seeking $280,432, based on a $140,216 loadstar with a multiplier of two. Continue Reading Plaintiff and Defendant Are “Prevailing Parties” in Same Action

California’s new Fair Pay Act (“Act”) was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on October 6, 2015.  Many believe the Act is the most aggressive equal pay law in the United States.  The Act becomes effective January 1, 2016.

Prior to Act, California Labor Code section 1197.5 prohibited discrimination in pay based on gender since 1949.  The old law required equal pay for “equal work,” except under four situations: a seniority system; a merit system; a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production; or a “bona fide” factor other than gender.  Continue Reading California Employers Face Stringent New Equal Pay Requirements

We want to see your silly, spooky and/or funny Hallowen photos! Jackson Lewis is hosting a Halloween costume competition on Twitter and invite you to join in on the fun. Here’s how to enter:

Post one photo of you, your pet, and/or your family/child/children in a funny/cute Halloween costume. Be sure to hashtag #JLTrickorTreat and tweet at either or both of our accounts (@JacksonLewis + @JacksonLewisCA). Continue Reading Enter Today: Jackson Lewis Halloween Costume Competition #JLTrickorTreat

An employer is prohibited from retaliating against an employee who makes a complaint to a government or law enforcement agency under California law.

Labor Code section 1102.5(b), for example, makes it unlawful for a hospital to terminate a nurse because the nurse complained about a doctor to the Medical Board. It also would be unlawful for an airline to terminate a pilot who reported potential violations of regulations to the Federal Aviation Administration. These are classic “whistleblower” situations, where an employee complains about the conduct of his or her employer.  However, a recent case, Cardenas v. M. Fanaian, DDS, Inc., has held that the reach of section 1102.5(b) is not so limited, but applies to matters unrelated to the employer’s compliance with law in operating its business, such as employee reports to law enforcement involving personal matters. Continue Reading “Whistleblower” Retaliation Applies to Private Matters Unrelated to the Whistleblower’s Employment

On October 5, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill confirming that employees in the health care industry can waive one of their two meal periods when working a shift of over eight hours in a workday. This law clarifies confusion caused by a recently decided appellate case, Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, 234 Cal.App.4th 285 (C.A. 4th, 2015) (review granted). The Gerard case is currently under review by the California Supreme Court. Continue Reading Health Care Workers Allowed to Waive Meal Period

On October 6, 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 358 (“SB 358”), a law that substantially eases California employees’ burden in proving gender-based pay claims. This law also increases the number of years that employers must retain employee records, and creates additional protections for employees who wish to discuss or disclose their wages. Continue Reading New California Law Eases Employees’ Burdens in Proving Gender-Based Pay Claims and Creates Additional Protections for Employees to Discuss Their Wages

An amendment to California’s Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) affords an employer the right to cure certain wage statement violations before an employee may bring a civil suit against the employer.

This is a win for employers. The amendment, AB 1506, provides employers the right to cure a violation of failing to provide its employees with a wage statement containing the inclusive dates of the pay period and the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer, as required under California Labor Code section 226(a). The amendment, signed by Governor Jerry Brown on October 2, 2015, is effective immediately. Continue Reading Representative PAGA Law Allows Curing of Certain Wage Statement Violations

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) both require employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, provided that the accommodations do not impose an “undue hardship” on the employer.

By definition, a reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job, to an employee’s work environment, or to the way things usually are done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy an equal employment opportunity. It also is any modification or adjustment that allows an employee to perform the essential functions of a job that similarly situated employees without disabilities hold. The reasonable accommodation process can be tricky to navigate, and mistakes can lead to unwanted litigation. Here is a list to help you identify and avoid the most common employer mistakes. Continue Reading Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid During the Reasonable Accommodation Process

Originally posted on BLR.com. For more information and to register, click here and enter code “Speakfree” to register free-of-charge compliments of Jackson Lewis.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

1:30 to 3 p.m. Eastern/10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific 

Flu season seems to come earlier these days. And, when it strikes, it lasts longer and is more severe. Continue Reading Complimentary Live Webinar! California Flu Preparation: How to Protect Workers and Comply with Cal/OSHA’s New ATD Standard

Declining to enforce a representative action waiver contained in an arbitration agreement, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, has held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not preempt California’s “Iskanian rule,” which prohibits waiver of representative claims under the state Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”), Cal. Lab. Code § 2698 et seq. Sakkab v. Luxottica Retail North America, Inc., No. 13-55184 (9th Cir. Sept. 28, 2015).

The PAGA “authorizes an employee to bring an action for civil penalties on behalf of the state against his or her employer for Labor Code violations committed against the employee and fellow employees, with most of the proceeds of that litigation going to the state.” Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348, 360 (2014). Thus, a PAGA claim is a type of government enforcement action where the representative employee acts as the state’s proxy.

Continue Reading California Ban on Waiver of Representative PAGA Claims Not Barred by Federal Arbitration Act, Federal Court Holds