If your company is facing a claim under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), most cases end not with a trial but with a negotiated settlement. Understanding where the settlement dollars actually go—and what a judge will scrutinize before signing off—helps you evaluate any proposed deal with clear eyes. Here are five things every California
Most California employers think about their time and attendance records in only one context: the day a plaintiff’s lawyer subpoenas them. By then, the records are working against you — every late meal punch, every missing premium, every off-the-clock minute becomes a line item in someone else’s damages model. But the same data that creates
California employers face one of the most complex and actively enforced wage-and-hour landscapes in the country, and most of that complexity gets triggered the moment a schedule is built. Daily overtime, meal and rest break timing, premium pay obligations, split shifts, reporting time pay, and PAGA exposure all flow from how shifts are scheduled and
If you are a California employer, there is a major unresolved issue in PAGA litigation that could significantly impact your exposure—and your ability to enforce your arbitration agreements.
It is called a “headless” PAGA claim, and right now, California courts are split on whether these claims are even allowed.
The result: uncertainty, inconsistent outcomes, and
Most California employers took care of the February 1, 2026 distribution deadline under SB 294 — the Workplace Know Your Rights Act. But many have not yet addressed the law’s second compliance obligation, which arrives on March 30, 2026. That deadline is now two weeks away.
By March 30, every California employer must give current
California is technically an at-will employment state. But practically speaking, that designation comes with so many asterisks that employers who treat at-will as a blank check to terminate anyone at any time are setting themselves up for costly litigation.
Here are five things every California employer needs to understand about the at-will doctrine:
1. At-Will
On February 6, 2026, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to adopt the first-ever set of formal regulations governing PAGA’s administrative procedures. That sentence alone should get the attention of every California employer.
Since PAGA was enacted in 2004, and even after the landmark 2024 reforms, there
As the holiday season approaches, it’s a perfect time for California employers to revisit their policies on holiday leave, scheduling, and pay practices. Last week, we covered key vacation considerations for the busy season. This week, we’re focusing on five important reminders to help ensure compliance and smooth operations as the year winds down.
1.
As we move deeper into 2025, it’s the perfect time for California employers to return to the fundamentals. With ever-evolving employment laws and aggressive enforcement—especially around wage and hour issues—getting the basics right can mean the difference between smooth operations and costly litigation.
As a preview to our upcoming webinar, “Wage and Hour Back
As we discussed last week, makeup time provides flexibility for California employers and employees to offset time taken off within the same workweek without incurring overtime obligations. Additionally, the California Labor Code permits the use of compensatory time, commonly known as “comp time.” However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) imposes significant limitations on