Plaintiff Jacob Davis brought a putative class action against International Coffee and Tea, LLC (the company that operates Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf) alleging that the company’s tip pooling policy violated California’s Labor Code section 351. The trial court sustained Coffee Bean’s demurrer to plaintiff’s second amended complaint without leave to amend. Plaintiff appealed the
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, that employment arbitration agreements that bar class actions are enforceable. The vote was 5 to 4 in upholding the use of arbitration agreements in the workplace.
The plaintiff in the case argued that employees could not waive their rights in an agreement
On May 8, 2018, the court in Ibarra v. Wells Fargo Bank entered an order awarding Plaintiffs who filed a class action against the bank $97.2 million for rest break violations. The original complaint alleged various wage and hour violations, and after the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment, all but the rest
The California Supreme Court issued a monumental ruling this week regarding the test used in determining whether a worker can be classified as an independent contractor. In the case, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the plaintiff brought a class action complaint alleging five causes of action arising from Dynamex’s alleged misclassification of
As I wrote about recently, on March 23, 2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 signed by President Trump changed federal law on the issue of tip pools and allows employers to share tips with back of the house employees. In connection with the new law, the Department of Labor issued a memorandum this week
In a huge development in the last couple of weeks, a change in federal law now permits California employers to include back of the house employees in tip pools. This week’s post is an update and a general discussion about issues facing restaurants, hotels, and other industries where tipping and gratuities are left for
I just posted a new video on my YouTube channel about the issues facing employers with the state and local minimum wage increases in 2018 (embedded below). At the end of the first quarter in 2018, it is a good time to review compliance with the state and local minimum wage laws, and to start
Employers need to understand their rights and obligations when they receive notice of a complaint through the Labor Commissioner. The process can seem daunting, but with a little preparation it can be managed effectively. This Friday’s Five post sets out a brief explanation of the five steps that most Labor Commissioner proceedings follow:
Step one:
Employee terminations and resignations must be planned for in advance to avoid common pitfalls for California employers. I’ve recently written about go-to hiring practices for employers, so I thought it would be appropriate to follow that post up with this list of go-to termination practices. This Friday’s Five focuses on critical management and legal
Makeup time is one of the rare occurrences under California law that employees have flexibility to adjust their work schedule to accommodate for important life events that come up from time to time. Makeup time allows employees to take time off and then make it up later in the same workweek, without triggering the obligation