How is it Friday already, and summer is coming to a close quickly?  Time for another Friday’s Five, and this week I cover five reminders about meal break waivers in California:

1. Meal break timing obligations.

An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without

[Update: AB 3080 was vetoed by the Governor on September 30, 2018, and will not become law.  Click here to see other bills that were approved by the Governor and will become law for California employers in 2019.]

California legislature passed AB 3080 which prohibits employers from entering into arbitration agreements with employees and

I’m moderating a panel discussion on best practices for how to hire and retain good employees at the Western Food Service and Hospitality Expo (WFHE).  The panelists are Joseph Pitruzelli owner of Wurstküche, Francis Drelling General Counsel at Specialty Restaurants Corporation, Naz Moin former director of Human Resources at PizzaRev, and Madelyn Alfano owner of

California employers need to routinely need to review their policies and practices to make sure they are complying with intricacies that may arise in their work place.  In law school, attorneys-to-be are taught to “issue spot,” and the unfortunate litigation landscape that faces California employers, business owners and their supervisors must also “issue spot” and

This week’s Friday’s Five covers five huge misconceptions about California employment law that can land employers into huge legal trouble:

1. Meal and rest breaks seem so trivial.

The topic may seem trivial for companies that have not faced this litigation before, or for out of state employers who wrongly believe California cannot be much

Douglas Troester filed suit alleging that Starbucks violated the California Labor Code by failing to pay him for short periods of time he spent closing the store.  He alleged that Starbucks failed to pay him for time spent walking out of the store after activating the security alarm, for the time he spent turning the

This Friday’s Five is a reminder of the free resources I’ve published that you’re probably not utilizing:

1) Subscribe to my Youtube channel here: http://bit.ly/2MxDueG

2) Subscribe to my blog, the California Employment Law Report here: http://bit.ly/2lHK1Io

3) Download White Papers:

4) Subscribe to

Cheesecake Factory restaurants in Southern California were cited for $4.57 million for wage and hour violations and penalties by the Labor Commissioner earlier this week.  What may come as a surprise to many is that the citation was based on alleged wage violations for employees of contractors hired by Cheesecake Factory, not its own employees.