Executive Summary: The effects of the California Supreme Court’s latest interpretation to provide seating to workers are beginning to show, as the United States District Court for the Central District of California recently approved a $700,000 settlement against a major retail clothing company for failure to provide seating in a representative action involving the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, California Labor Code Section 2698, et seq., (PAGA).
Articles about California Labor And Employment Law.
New Healthcare Workplace Safety Prevention Laws Take Effect April 1, 2017, in California
Healthcare employers in California should prepare for a host of new workplace safety requirements, starting this weekend. California’s new healthcare workplace safety prevention law takes effect April 1, 2017.
California Court of Appeal Clarifies Wage Statement Requirements for Use of Unique Employee Numbers, Hourly Rates for PTO or Vacation
The California Court of Appeal has held that: (1) the use of payroll service provider generated unique employee file numbers on employee wage statements, in lieu of the employer’s internal employee identification number or last four digits of employee social security numbers, is legally permissible under California law; and (2) employers are not required to state applicable hourly rates for payments of accrued paid time off or vacation on exempt employee wage statements. Blaire v. Dole Food Co., No. B263695, 2017 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 46,633 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 15, 2017) (unpublished).
City of Los Angeles Updates Paid Sick Leave Rules and FAQs
On March 14, 2017, with little to no fanfare, the City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards (OWS) revised its rules implementing the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO), which includes mandatory paid sick leave requirements. OWS also revised its frequently asked questions (FAQs). The revised FAQs provide that an employer’s business size is based on covered employees, i.e., individuals who perform at least two hours of work in a particular week within the City of Los Angeles and are entitled to the state minimum wage. Also, the revised FAQs specify that employers can use different sick leave methods for different employee classes, e.g., accrual-based system for part-time employees and frontloading for full-time employees. Per the revised FAQs, at the end of each year, employers—at their discretion—can pay out accrued but unused sick leave that exceeds the 72-hour overall cap.
California Legislative Watch: New Employment Bills
Each legislative session, there are a number of employment-related bills introduced — some of which are helpful for California employers (and almost always get killed in committee early on) and others which are bad for California employers. This blog includes a list of notable bills that have been introduced this session.
The Latest on Arbitration Agreements
The validity of mandatory arbitration agreements continues to be a major focus of litigation and legislation. As employers know, the U.S. Supreme Court currently is reviewing the issue of whether class action waivers violate the NLRA in the consolidated matters Morris v. Ernst & Young, Lewis v. Epic Systems, and Murphy v. NLRB. Briefing is underway in those matters and oral argument is expected this fall.
Separate Compensation for Rest Breaks and Non-Productive Time Required for Non-Exempt Commissioned Employees
On February 28, 2017, in Vaquero, et al. v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District ruled that Wage Order 7-2001 (mercantile industry) requires employers to separately compensate non-exempt commissioned employees for rest breaks. It further held that the same analysis applies to “any other compensation system that does not separately account for rest breaks and other nonproductive time.” A link to the opinion can be found here.
California’s Expanding Fair Pay Act
The California Fair Pay Act (CFPA) took effect a little over a year ago (January 2016) but already has been expanded to
California Businesses To Provide Neutral Restrooms So All Genders Can Do Their Business
In California, all business establishments, places of public accommodation, or government agencies with single-occupancy restrooms are now required to identify such toilet facilities as all-gender restrooms. In September 2016, California state governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1732 (now codified as California Health and Safety Code section 118600), effective March 1, 2017.
California Lawmakers Introduce Statewide Ban-the-Box Law
When it comes to legislation restricting employer use of criminal records, California seems to be leading the charge. In the last six months alone, we have reported on a variety of new laws that apply to California employers that use criminal records in pre-hire and other employment decisions.1 Continuing this trend, on February 16, 2017, five California assembly members introduced Assembly Bill 1008, which proposes to add a section to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) containing new state-wide restrictions on an employer’s ability to make pre-hire and other employment decisions based on an applicant or employee’s criminal records, including a “ban-the-box” component.
Don’t Assume PAGA Claims Are Not Arbitrable: Ninth Circuit Reverses District Court Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration of PAGA Claim
On March 3, 2013, in an unpublished decision in Valdez v. Terminix International Company Limited Partnership, Case No.15-56236, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a District Court order denying defendant Terminix International Company Limited Partnership’s (Terminix) motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff Palcido Valdez’s (Valdez) claim for penalties for violation of the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, Labor Code section 2698 et seq. (PAGA).
What Am I Doing Wrong? Common FMLA Mistakes – the California Edition
“What did I do wrong” and “Am I doing this correctly?” are frequent questions from clients regarding FMLA administration.
Three Labor and Employment Issues to Watch Under the Trump Administration
Three of the top labor and employment law issues to watch in the beginning of the Trump administration include: (1) the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) minimum salary requirements for overtime compensation; (2) mandatory, federal paid maternity leave; and (3) more rigorous state and local laws in the labor and employment arena.
California’s Upcoming Indoor Heat Regulation
In October 2016, Governor Brown signed and approved Senate Bill 1167 which went into effect on January 1, 2017. The law directs Cal/OSHA to draft and propose heat illness and injury prevention standards for indoor workplaces by January 1, 2019.
Commissioned Employees Must Be Paid Separately for Rest Breaks
This week, a California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, holding that an employer violated California law by failing to pay commissioned employees for rest breaks. California law requires that employees be provided with a paid 10-minute rest break for each four hours, or major fraction thereof, worked. In this case, the employer, which operates retail furniture stores in California, provided rest breaks to its sales associates but the court held that the employer’s commission pay plan did not compensate associates for these rest breaks. The employer’s commission plan provided that associates would be paid a guaranteed minimum hourly rate ($12 per hour) for all hours worked and that this minimum would operate as a draw against commissions.