Blog
AMENDED MINIMUM WAGE NOTICE MUST BE POSTED BY JULY 1, 2014
As recently covered in our California Minimum Wage Increasing blog, California’s minimum will rise to $9.00 an hour on July 1, 2014. Also by July 1, California employers must prominently post the new Division of Labor Standards Enforcement Minimum Wage Order (MW-2014) specifying this $9.00 per hour minimum requirement as well as the $10.00 per […]
WHEN IGNORANCE IS AN EXCUSE
An Employer is Not Responsible to Pay Off-the-Clock Work Time about Which It Knows Nothing A company normally must compensate an employee for any time he/she put in service to that company even if such work was not authorized. Thus, while an employer can issue policy barring overtime work or policy requiring advance approval for […]
DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CLAIMS
An Employer’s Lesson In Thorough Documentation In Los Angeles County, it is not uncommon to see 100 lawsuits filed weekly against employers for alleged unlawful discrimination or retaliation, often both in the same complaint. One could say that unless a business knows and applies the important basics in preventing such expensive and time-consuming claims, it […]
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS CHALLENGE BASEBALL’S LABOR PRACTICES
Underpayment of Minimum Wage and Overtime Is Foul Play Thirty-three former minor league ball players seek to pull back the curtain on alleged system-wide violations of minimum wage or overtime. Their federal class action suit challenges Commissioner Bud Selig, the Office of the Commissioner, and, in effect, every baseball team in the country to remedy […]
EMPLOYER DUTIES TO FIGHT RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE
Companies Must Uphold Worker Rights to Religious Garb or Grooming Even if It Means Losing Business The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in commerce, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, nicknamed “Title VII.” In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the EEOC has fielded […]
THE ANNALS OF COPYRIGHT NUMBER 1
When In Doubt, Choose Contracts Over Lunch In a 1990 copyright decision over a sci-fi flick featuring alien frozen yogurt enslaving the human race (yes, that is correct), federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski noted that the producer defendant — a “low-budget horror movie mogul” – justified his attempt to use another’s […]
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: EMPLOYMENT CLASS ACTION SUITS CAN HINGE ON A COURT’S CHOICE OF DEFINITIONS
U.S. Supreme Court Turns to History and Webster’s Dictionary to Defeat a Class Action Against U.S. Steel A minimal underpayment of wages to a single worker can morph into a claim potentially worth millions if magnified across a “class” of many workers subject to the same alleged employment practices. Targeting larger employers, such “class action” […]
PREGNANCY AND DISABILITY
California Employers’ Obligations to Accommodate May Not End After Providing the Required Four Month Leave A recent California Court of Appeal case – Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc. (February 21, 2014), 213 California Appellate Reporter, fourth series (Cal.App.4th) 1331 – confirms that employers must comply with both the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (PDLL) law and the […]
INDEPENDENT OR EMPLOYED?
Classifying Workers Correctly is a Case-by-Case Challenge There are economic risks for an employer who misclassifies a worker who should be employed as an independent contractor. A wide range of California and federal agencies have the power to impose back taxes, interest and penalties upon companies who unsuccessfully attempt the tactic. California placed greater deterrents […]
EMPLOYER WINS BATTLE BUT LOSES WAR
Company Ordered To Pay Worker’s $700,000 Attorney Bill United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) essentially “won” an age discrimination case when a California jury awarded an ex-employee only $27,280 in damages. That relative victory was short-lived, erased by the trial judge awarding the worker $700,000 for her attorney fees. The appeals court recently upheld this decision. […]