Under California Labor Code §226(a), California employers are required to provide wage statements to employees that contain 9 different pieces of information. One of the requirements is that the wage statement must show “the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer.” Given the statute’s use…
Back in 2014, the California Supreme Court ruled in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles that an individual employee who has signed a mandatory arbitration agreement may be compelled to arbitrate his “individual damages claims.” However, if that employee joins a representative PAGA claim to his other damages claims, that…
In a first-of-its-kind academic study that looked at both employee compensation and medical records, researchers at Washington University found that employee health and wellness declines as the employer shifts compensation towards bonuses and other incentive and performance-based compensation systems. In particular, the study showed that, as an employer…
In Furry v. East Bay Publishing, the California Court of Appeal held that an employee’s “imprecise” memory is sufficient evidence to support his claim for wages and overtime owed when the employer fails to keep accurate records of the employee’s work hours. The employer in Furry did not keep…
The California Court of Appeal recently ruled in Ward v. Tilly’s Inc. that employers who utilize “on call” scheduling have to pay reporting time pay to their employees. This decision is sending shockwaves through California’s restaurant and retail industries because it will significantly increase payroll costs for those…
Last year was a busy legislative year in California. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements in particular spawned a host of new employment laws that took effect on January 1st. If you haven’t done so already, you should review your employee handbook and personnel policies to make sure that you are…
It was only 8 months ago that the California Supreme Court announced its bombshell ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court and announced the new test for determining when a worker was an employee or independent contractor. This new test was dubbed the “ABC Test” because, for a…
Last week, an employers’ group that represents small and medium sized business across California sued the State claiming that its Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) statute was unconstitutional. As readers of this blog know, PAGA is a controversial state statute, found in the Labor Code, that allows an…
In California, the “prevailing party” in litigation is entitled to recover its costs as a matter of law under California Code of Civil Procedure (“CCC”) §1032. But under CCP §998, a party may make an “offer to compromise,” which can cut-off and even reverse the parties’ right to…
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, New America’s Better Life Lab presented findings that sexual harassment was “severe, pervasive, and widespread” across all industries. It exists equally in both low-income and high-income jobs, and in both male-dominated and female-dominated occupations. It is, unfortunately, everywhere….