Articles Discussing California Wage & Hour Laws.

There are two major California wage and hour bills that California employers should be aware of and monitor. We have outlined both below:

Four-Day Workweek Bill Halted

Assembly Bill 2932, known as the four-day workweek bill, was introduced earlier this year, seeking to redefine and shorten the workweek.

Current California law requires that work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek be compensated at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay, subject to certain exceptions. AB 2932 proposes that an employee be paid one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 32 hours per workweek, rather than 40.

On January 1, 2022, California’s statewide minimum wage increased to $15.00 ($14.00 for employers with 25 employees or less).  A statewide minimum of $15.00 for all businesses was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2023.  However, as a result of rates of inflation of over 7%, a further

Earlier this week, the California Supreme Court added another layer of complexity to California’s already-onerous wage and hour regulatory scheme. In this week’s development, the California Supreme Court held in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., that premiums for missed meal periods now constitute “wages” that must be reported on statutorily required wage statements pursuant to Labor Code section 226.7 and paid in a timely manner pursuant to Labor Code section 203.

On May 23, 2022, the Supreme Court of California held that premium pay for missed meal and rest periods constitutes “wages” under California labor law and that employers may be held liable for the failure to properly report and timely pay out such wages.

In another unfavorable ruling for employers that stresses the importance of meal period and wage statement compliance, the California Supreme Court has held in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. that meal period and rest break violations can also trigger derivative claims for waiting time penalties and wage statement

California law requires employers to provide meal and rest periods to most non-exempt employees.  If an employer does not provide eligible employees with the opportunity to take those meal and rest periods, then Labor Code section 226.7 requires the employer to pay an additional hour of pay as a “premium” (up to two hours per day—one hour for rest period violations, and one hour for meal period violations).  So far, so good, right?

On May 23, 2022, the Supreme Court of California held that premium pay for missed meal and rest periods constitutes “wages” under California labor law and that employers may be held liable for the failure to properly report and timely pay out such wages.

Under California law, employees normally accrue daily overtime for hours worked over 8 hours in a day. Alternative workweek schedules (AWS) permit workplaces to adopt different schedules longer than 8 hours without accruing overtime. This may be needed due to health and safety concerns or industry practices that mandate longer

By: California Proposes Bill To Expand Employer Pay Transparency and Pay Data Reporting

On February 17, 2022, Senate Bill 1162 was introduced to further burden employers as to “pay transparency” and “pay data reporting”.  SB 1162 proposes two major changes:  

Requiring employers to submit pay data reports to the

In this episode, Jen and Erika remind employers about California’s Pay Data Reporting requirements, and offer tips on how employers can meet the April 1, 2022, reporting deadline.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) posted updates to its California Pay Data Reporting Portal User Guide and California Pay Data Reporting: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guidance for the 2021 reporting year on its pay data reporting landing page on January 31, 2022. The DFEH has set

Wage and hour laws applicable to California employers are complex and ever changing. We briefly summarize below some of the various rules applicable to private sector, non-union employers and explain why wage-hour audits are critical.

Employers in the trucking industry have repeatedly tried to challenge the applicability of California’s stringent meal and rest break laws to their workers, in light of the practical difficulties of complying with those rules and its conflict with contrary federal regulations.