Wage & Hour

After 20 agonizing years for California employers, new bills (AB-2288 and SB-92) were passed effective July 1, 2024 clipping the albatross wings of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Though PAGA survives and still poses a formidable threat, there are several notable amendments to the…Read More

In California, piece rate compensation plans have been on the chopping block since 2013. That’s when two California courts ruled that piece-rate employers had to separately pay employees for rest and recovery periods and “nonproductive” time. Back then we wrote those decisions put the “nail in the coffin” for…Read More

California’s minimum wage rises to $10 per hour starting January 1, 2016. Once again, California employers must gear up for pay raises, not just for employees paid on an hourly basis at minimum wage, but also for exempt employees. We explained why this is the case two years ago…Read More

If you own an apartment or hotel/motel and provide free lodging to your employee(s), pay attention. Otherwise, the rest of you California employers can take a breather. A common practice in the apartment/hotel/motel industry is to allow the manager to live in one of your…Read More

The California Supreme Court has ruled California employers may avoid employee class action lawsuits through binding arbitration. (Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 6/23/2014). This is clearly a big win for all employers, large and small. California Employment Arbitration Agreements For California employers, arbitration…Read More

A common misconception is paying an employee a salary makes them “exempt” from payment of overtime.  I bet at least half of you reading this are saying, “what, you mean that’s not the case?” That’s right, it’s not.  While paying a salary is required, there…Read More

Smart employers know having written employee policies is good business. But who would have thought the absence of a written policy – when the law does not require one – could create liability for employers?  And when that lack of a written policy can result…Read More

Here’s another reason for California employers to know their California minimum wage obligations and to comply with them. For a while now, a failure to pay minimum wage carried with it the penalty of having to pay not only the minimum wages owed but “liquidated…Read More

Employees may file claims for wages and other Labor Code violations either in court or before the California Labor Commissioner, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE).  If an employee elects to sue before the Labor Commissioner/DLSE, an administrative hearing is held.  The hearing is known…Read More

SB 434 amends Labor Code section 226.7 (formerly addressing rest and meal periods only) to add a new “recovery period” obligation on employers.  So like rest and meal periods, California employers are now required to provide “recovery periods.” A “recovery period” is defined as “a…Read More