The novel coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) is impacting nearly every facet of daily life in most California communities, and employers are struggling to balance the competing interests of protecting their employees and their businesses while also doing their part to halt the spread of this highly contagious…
Recently, a California appellate court issued a clear reminder to employers that paying meticulous attention to detail is required in complying with California’s wage and hour laws. In Noori v. Countrywide Payroll & HR Solutions, Inc. (CA3 C084800, 12/26/19), the Third Appellate District closely analyzed the Labor Code’s…
McDonald’s recently agreed to pay $26 million to settle allegations that it had violated California’s wage and hour laws. The case was pending for 7 years and involved a class of 38,000 cooks and cashiers working at corporate-owned locations throughout California. McDonald’s always denied any violations of the…
Effective January 1, 2020, and as a result of the passage of Senate Bill (“SB”) 78, California now has a statewide healthcare mandate that is similar to the federal Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Like the federal ACA, California’s new mandate requires most California residents to purchase and maintain…
Senate Bill (“SB”) 707, which became effective on January 1, 2020, creates substantial consequences for employers that fail to pay the costs and fees associated with the arbitration on time. Specifically, after January 1, 2020, an employer that fails to pay arbitration fees within 30 days after such…
Starting January 1, 2020, California employees will be able to seek penalties from their employers directly for late payment of wages. If you are wondering thinking employees were already able to do that, you are partially right. On October 10, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 673 (“AB 673”),…
AB 51 was signed by Governor Newsom back in October 2019. AB 51 generally prohibited employers from requiring employees, as a condition of employment, to agree to arbitrate any future Labor Code claims and/or Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) claims. AB 51 also made it illegal for…
In a rare “win” for California employers, the California Supreme Court recently ruled in ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court that the “underpaid wages” authorized by Labor Code §558 are not recoverable in a PAGA action. California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) As readers of this blog know well, PAGA…
Whistleblowing in the workplace recently got a lot more expensive for California employers. A recent California Court of Appeals decision, Todd Hawkins et al. v. City of Los Angeles, has reminded employers — again — about how costly a whistleblower case can be. Blowing the Whistle… Anyone following the…
When an employee separates from a company – whether voluntarily or involuntarily – employers generally don’t want that employee to apply for work again, or to have any chance of dealing with a subsequent lawsuit or claim for “failure to hire.” When paying severance or separation pay, or…