Employers Should Curb Workplace Verbal Battles An employer is not only liable for actually terminating a worker on the basis of race, gender, national origin and other protected classifications. A worker may also have a claim if the employer “unlawfully constructively discharged” that person (also known as “unlawful (or wrongful or illegal) constructive termination” or […]
The California Supreme Court has promptly followed its game-changing Brinker decision with another important ruling, specifically limiting the rights of workers to collect attorney fees from their employers in lawsuits over allegedly missed meal breaks and rest periods. As we reported in “Brinker: California’s Meal Break Breakthrough, Employers are No Longer the Lunch Police,” California […]
The Necessity of Management Training While the California Supreme Court’s Brinker decision (April 12, 2012) supplied vital and sensible guidelines that do not require employers to act as a “police” authority confirming workers take their meal and rest breaks, the law will still impose penalties on a business if its supervisors and managers, for lack […]
Yet, Greater Flexibility Requires Greater Documentation The recent California Supreme Court Brinker decision (April 12, 2012) on the standards for providing meal and rest breaks now permits greater flexibility on scheduling, including employer ability to provide workers the option to skip breaks from time-to-time. However, an employer should take care to institute and maintain written […]
Dos and Don’ts for California Employers The California Supreme Court’s recent Brinker decision (April 12, 2012) includes important clarifications on employee meal breaks as well as rest periods. To ensure compliance, employers must maintain accurate timekeeping systems for employee working hours. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and similar California law, employers are […]
California Employers Get a Break The California Supreme Court has recently clarified this state’s workplace rest period laws. Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) (April 12, 2012). California law requires employers to provide their hourly employees with one paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or “major fraction thereof.” The Court confirmed […]
Employers are No Longer the Lunch Police In 2000, California enacted Labor Code 226.7, requiring employers to pay an employee an extra hour of compensation for “each work day that the [required] meal or rest period is not provided.” Fueled by that financial incentive, nearly overnight, and for the past 11 years, the vast majority […]