A common question posed to me this past week was what types of lawsuits should employers be concerned about once the economy begins to reopen. I figured that the California economy is slowly reopening, so I should start writing my Friday’s Five lists again – so here are the top five areas of concern I
Expense reimbursement may seem like a small issue in comparison with the other areas of liability facing California employers, but the exposure for not appropriately reimbursing employees can be substantial. In Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the parameters of mileage reimbursement under California law, as well as the three
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
You may recall from your college business law class of the “American rule” regarding attorney’s 
fees: generally in the United States each side is responsible to their own attorney’s fees, and unlike other countries, the loser does not have to pay the other party’s attorney’s fees. Employers can basically ignore this general rule
You’ve set up a successful company and begin hiring employees. To be a successful operator in California, a company’s management needs to be familiar with the critical legal concepts in order to successfully navigate California’s complex employment laws. You never wanted to go to law school, but time to hit the, ahem, books (or the
Colin Cochran brought a putative class action against his employers, Schwan’s Home Service, on
behalf of 1,500 customer service managers who were not reimbursed for expenses pertaining to the work-related use of their personal cell phones. He alleged causes of action for violation of Labor Code section 2802; unfair business practices under Business and Professions
In my last post, I wrote about what steps employers should talk to comply with the new employment laws for 2015. This post discusses more generally what employers should audit on a yearly basis. And with the year coming to a close, now is a great time to review these five items:
1. Expense reimbursement
Expense reimbursement may seem like a small issue in comparison with the other areas of 
liability facing California employers, but the exposure for not appropriately reimbursing employees can be substantial. In Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the parameters of mileage reimbursement under California law, as well as the three
Here is a list of five rights provided to employees under the California Labor 
Code that the employee may not waive by agreement with an employer.
1. Minimum wage
Labor Code Section 1194 provides a private right of action to enforce violations of minimum wage and overtime laws. That statute clearly voids any agreement between