On Monday, April 4, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will gradually raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 per hour.Continue reading
Category Archives: Wage and Hour
Is Uber Driving Us Toward a New Class of Worker?
Technology has radically changed the way we work. It has freed us from notions of a static physical worksite and turned many Starbucks into a business center. It has upended traditional ideas of work schedules and work days in ways that are both good and bad. It has also created what has been termed “the online gig economy” which allows people to opt in and out of jobs in ways that simply would not have been possible in the past.
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An Ounce of Prevention
. . . is worth a pound of cure. We’ve all heard it a thousand times. Timeworn phrase though it is, the principle behind it is nonetheless true for California employers when it comes to safely navigating the rocks and shoals of California’s employment and wage/hour laws.Continue reading
California Adopts Limited Cure for Check Stub Violations
On October 2, 2015, Governor Brown signed as emergency legislation an amendment to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The amendment allows employers to cure certain technical check stub violations that form the basis of a PAGA claim.Continue reading
Get Ready for a New Conversation
With the passage of California SB 358, signed by Governor Brown on October 6, California employers will need to begin preparing for a new conversation with their employees about gender pay equality in the coming year. California’s existing Equal Pay Act, found at Labor Code § 1197.5, has been substantially strengthened by the Legislature. The law continues to apply to California employers of all sizes—with no exclusion for small businesses.Continue reading
Travel Time – To Pay or Not To Pay?
Employers are often unsure as to whether they must pay nonexempt employees for travel time. Most employers are aware that they generally do not have to pay employees for normal travel from home to work and back. However, the issue becomes more difficult when nonexempt employees travel to various customer locations, trade shows, client meetings, etc.Continue reading
EPLI Coverage and Typical Exclusions
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) coverage typically covers a claim that the named insured(s) (usually the employer) has become legally obligated to pay. There are two main forms of policies. A claims-made policy covers claims reported during the policy period (which will be identified in the policy itself). An occurrence policy requires that the act that is subject of the claim take place during the policy period. Only certain claims that are identified in the policy will be covered.Continue reading
Which Came First? The Tech Boom or Wage and Hour Claims Boom?
During the heady days of the internet revolution, news stories abounded about young receptionists who became millionaires overnight when their stock options turned to gold. But something else was quietly happening that would have and continues to have a profound impact on California employers.Continue reading