By Pooja Patel and Anthony Zaller

An issue that constantly plagues the service industry is what to do about tips and the challenges that come with mandated tip pooling and mandatory service charges. This week’s post is an update and a general discussion about tipping and mandatory service charges. This simple concept is surprisingly complex

It is critical for California employers to properly calculate the regular rate of pay for an employee in order to pay the appropriate overtime pay and for premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks.  Here are five issues employers must be aware of regarding calculating an employee’s regular rate of pay:

1. Employers must

In O’Grady v. Merchant Exchange Productions, Inc., the California Court of Appeals held that a mandatory service charge could potentially be found to be a gratuity that must be distributed to service employees.  The issue in the case is whether a “service charge” can be a “gratuity” that Labor Code section 351 requires to

This week, a federal court in northern California certified portions of a class action Picture - driverbrought by Uber drivers who worked in California since 2009 (click here for the decision [PDF]).  Over 160,000 drivers have worked for Uber in California during this time period, and while the case is making a lot of news,

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a panel of city lawmakers approved a draft of the ordinance that would raise the Los Angeles-2minimum wage in Los Angeles to $15 per hour by 2020, moving the ordinance one step closer to passage.  There was a backlash this week against the labor unions that were pushing hard

Today’s Friday’s Five provides a few points for employers to consider who have employees that receive gratuities. California law is very specific regarding gratuities left for employees, and since tips are property of the employee, employers must approach this area with caution. Here are five “tips” about tips in California.

1. Tips are employee’s property.

California restaurateurs received a huge victory from the Second District appellate court’s ruling in Budrow v. Dave & Buster’s Of California, Inc. The lawsuit against Dave & Buster’s alleged that its tip pool policy violated California law in that it required employees to tip out bartenders who did not provide "direct table service." The