Over the weekend, Governor Brown signed S.B. 459 into law (among other employment bills) which makes employers liable for civil penalties of $5,000 to $15,000 for each violation of “willful misclassification” of employees as independent contractors. In addition, if it is found that the employer has a pattern and practice of misclassifying independent contractors, the
California Supreme Court Likely to Issue Ruling in Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court Soon
Today, the California Supreme Court set oral argument in Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) to take place on November 8, 2011. The Court typically provides a ruling on cases within 90 days of oral argument, so I expect a ruling very early in 2012.
This case is the much anticipated ruling on whether employers
California Supreme Court Holds Nonresident Employees Entitled to California Overtime – Sullivan, et. al. v. Oracle Corporation.
In Sullivan, et. al. v. Oracle Corporation, the California Supreme Court ruled on whether California’s overtime laws apply to out-of-state residents who perform work in California. The Court held that California’s interests in protecting all workers who perform work within the state are sufficient enough to require that California based employers must pay all
California Employment Law Podcast – AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion Decision On Class Action Waivers And Arbitration Agreements
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Employees Entitled Up To Two Hours Of Premium Pay For Missed Meal and Rest Breaks Per Day – UPS v. Superior Court
California Labor Code section 226.7 provides that employees are entitled to receive premium payment in the form of one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay for a missed meal or rest break. As the appellate court admitted in UPS v. Superior Court, this Labor Code provision is amenable to
Court Affirms Denial Of Class Certification In Security Guard Meal and Rest Break Case
In Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Associates, Inc., Plaintiffs brought a case on behalf of about 4,000 current and former security guards of Boyd & Associates, Inc. Plaintiffs asserted that all guards had to sign an agreement to take on-duty meal periods and that they never took an uninterrupted, off-duty meal break. They also asserted
What Labor Code requirements can employees waive?
It may come as a surprise to many employers that employees cannot waive, or enter into contracts
contrary to many of California’s Labor Code requirements. The rationale for this is pretty basic: if employees could waive the rights given to them under the Labor Code, every employer would simply require the employee to waive the
No Break In Worker Suits
I was quoted in this month’s California Lawyer magazine regarding the steady persistence of wage and hour lawsuits here in California – even during these difficult economic times. The article, No Break In Worker Suits, can be read here.
Lower Court’s Ruling In Brinker v. Hohnbaum
The Fourth Appellate District, Division One, Appellate Court’s opinion in Brinker Restaurant Corporation, et al. v. Hohnbaum, et al. (July 22, 2008) is the opinion that was appealed to the California Supreme Court. The case is one of the first California state appellate court to rule on the parameters of employers’ duties under the California Labor
CA Supreme Court denies review in Starbucks tip pooling case
The California Supreme Court denied review of a lower appellate cou
rt decision in the class action of Chau v. Starbucks. The issue in the case is whether store managers, who as part of their duties also served customers, could share in the tips which were left for all servers. The trial court took