Walmart Hit with Six Million Dollar Verdict for “Discouraging” Off-Site Meal Breaks California employers must provide non-overtime-exempt employees unpaid meal break(s) based on the number of hours worked in a given day. See, Required Meal Periods and Rest Breaks Revisited (April, 2018). The California Supreme Court’s 2012 Brinker Restaurant Corp. decision clarified that “employer-provided” breaks…
Read moreEmployers Must Heed Pay Stub Technicalities California employers must accurately list specific wage-related information on each worker’s pay stub per pay period, including but not limited to the company’s name and address, total hours worked, wage rate(s), gross and net wages earned, all deductions, and inclusive dates of the pay period. Seemingly, the easiest requirement…
Read moreOrder the 2019 Updated Model Employee Handbook and Hire-to-Fire Forms Over the past two decades, we have developed and refined a “soup-to-nuts” employee handbook and package of basic hire-to-fire forms and policies. Implementation of these forms and policies will greatly improve a company’s legal protection in employment screening, hiring, training, compensation (including minimum wage), benefits,…
Read moreCalifornia At-Will Employees Bound to Lawful Policy Changes by Continuing to Work after Their Adoption In Diaz v. Sohnen Enterprises, California employer Sohnen Enterprises instituted a mandatory dispute resolution policy requiring that all employee claims be arbitrated. “Arbitration” is a private dispute resolution tool, bypassing court trials by jury. The company informed the employees of…
Read moreThe New Normal? There appears a growing trend of employers — nationwide and abroad – implementing unorthodox methods to assess job candidates such as escape rooms, capture the flag, professional “speed dating” sessions, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf, laser tag and cooperative board games. An escape room involves a small group of people locked in a…
Read moreSexual Harassment Prevention Training The Clock is Ticking; Schedule Now With the #metoo movement and the marked rise in media-reported workplace sexual misconduct claims, all employers should ensure they are taking all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. The California legislature has added some mandatory encouragement. Starting January 2019, businesses statewide…
Read morePlaya Vista Car Wash Takes a Dunking for $2.36 Million “Wage Theft” On April 17, 2019, the Labor Commissioner’s Office announced a $2.36 million citation — the largest issued against a car wash business to date — against Playa Vista Car Wash along with its president and general manager for failing to properly pay or provide required…
Read moreModel Employee Handbook and Hire-to-Fire Forms Updated for 2019 As first-line defense against workplace disruption and legal claims, there is no substitute for well-written, up-to-date policies and procedures. A current, thorough employee policy manual (handbook) and complementary written internal guidelines covering all major aspects of personnel relations permit managers and rank-and-file workers alike to know…
Read moreEEOC 2018 Report Reflects Increases in Sexual Harassment Charges The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the number of workplace discrimination charges filed nationwide during fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). Of the 76,418 discrimination charges filed last year, retaliation topped the list, totaling 39,469 charges, followed by sex,…
Read moreCalifornia Legislature Dealing with Competing Proposals to Kill or Expand New Dynamex Test In 2018, the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling drastically changed the criteria for independent contractor classification to determine entitlement to many employee rights and benefits. See, Independent Contractor Status in California Now Falls Under Radically Different Rules (June, 2018). Rejecting the long-established balancing…
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