Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) was finally decided by the California Supreme Court. The decision was anxiously awaited by many due to its clarifications of California employment laws regarding the duties employers have regarding offering meal and rest breaks, and when the breaks need to be taken. The primary holding of the case
Wage & Hour Law
Brinker v. Superior Court Decision To Be Published Tomorrow
The California Supreme Court announced today that the opinion in Brinker v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) will be published tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. The opinion will address many issues surrounding meal and rest break requirements under the California Labor Code, such as whether employers need to ensure or simply provide meal breaks, and when breaks should…
Webinar – The Impact of Brinker: Understanding The Supreme Court’s Decision On Meal & Rest Breaks

Be among the first in California to understand the complete impact the monumental decision in Brinker v. Superior Court will have on employers. The Court’s decision is expected on April 12, and Anthony Zaller and Daniel Turner will analyze and discuss the impact of the decision. The webinar will explain the decision and what it…
Statistical Analysis of Labor Commissioner Rulings Shows Inconsistencies
When faced with a hearing before the California Labor Commissi
oner in a Berman hearing, employers and employees alike expect to get a fair, consistent hearing to settle wage disputes. However, as Brian Sumers of the Daily Journal points out this is not always the case. His article (subscription required) provides an analysis of the…
The Enforceability of Class Action Waivers In The Employment Context
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently held in D.R. Horton, 357 NLRB No. 184, that a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement was unenforceable as it violates employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Specifically, it held that employees have “the right ‘to engage in…concerted activities for the purpose…
2012 Wage and Reimbursement Rates For California Employers
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2012 Requirement |
Source |
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California Minimum Wage
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$8.00 per hour (unchanged from previous years) |
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San Francisco Minimum Wage
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$10.24 per hour |
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Computer Professional Exempt Salary Rate
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$38.89 or annual salary of not less than $81,026.25 for |
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Template To Comply With Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011 Notice Requirement To All Hires Beginning in 2012 Published By Labor Commissioner
Today the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) published a template that employers can use in order to comply with the new notice requirements set forth in Labor Code section 2810.5. A Word version can be downloaded here and a PDF version can be downloaded here.
All California employers are required to provide a…
Can Employees Agree To Waive Berman Hearings In Arbitration Agreements?
I’ve recently written a series of posts regarding the Berman hearing process available for employees to resolve wage disputes before the Labor Commissioner. See previous posts: Overview Of Berman Hearings Before The Labor Commissioner and How To Prepare For a Berman Hearing. But can an employer have an employee sign an arbitration agreement in which the…
All California Employers Have New Employee Notice Requirements Beginning January 1, 2012
The new law affecting every employer in California is
the Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011. It takes effect on January 1, 2012 and adds additional notice and record keeping requirements that employers must comply with. The new law added Labor Code section 2810.5, which requires private employers to provide all new employees with…
How To Prepare For a Berman Hearing
My las
t post provided an overview of the Berman hearing process when an employee begins a claim for unpaid wages with the Labor Commissioner. If the parties do not settle the claim at the settlement hearing, then the matter will be set for a Berman hearing pursuant to Labor Code 98(a). The Berman hearing…