On July 21, 2021, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, held that an aggrieved employee whose individual claim was time-barred had standing to pursue a representative claim under the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA) on behalf of other allegedly aggrieved employees regardless of whether the employee was personally aggrieved (Johnson v.…
Continue reading ›On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law where California became the first state to bar mega-retailers from firing warehouse workers for missing quotas that interfere with bathroom and rest breaks. The measure bars online retail giants like Amazon, from disciplining workers for following health and safety laws and allows employees to sue to…
Continue reading ›Last week, the California Supreme Court ruled in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC that California employers must pay meal period and rest break premiums at the same “regular rate” that applies to the payment of overtime. Under California law, when a non-exempt employee is not provided with a fully compliant 30-minute meal period or…
Continue reading ›Employees who are victims of wage theft are unpaid for their work, damages, and penalties. Those employees can bring a claim to the court or the Labor Commissioner to receive the wages they are owed. Successful claims can lead to a judgment being filed against the employer. Previously, there were all too many times where…
Continue reading ›Effective July 1, 2021, minimum wage has increased for many local cities. In addition to the above, the following minimum wage increases for hotel workers are of note: Los Angeles and Santa Monica: Effective July 1, 2021, the minimum wage for hotel workers is increasing from $17.13 to $17.64 in both cities. (Note that the…
Continue reading ›Severance agreements are designed to protect an employer from future lawsuits filed by former employees or other terminated workers. In California, employment law lawsuits have been skyrocketing in recent years and even more so during the pandemic. The typical employment lawsuits or administrative complaint include claims for: Unpaid overtime and minimum wages Unpaid split shift…
Continue reading ›On June 29, 2021, Cal/OSHA published a revised COVID-19 Model Prevention Program that reflect the changes made to the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) on June 17, 2021. Most employers in California are required to establish and implement an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP) pursuant to the Emergency Temporary Standards in place for COVID-19 (California…
Continue reading ›The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) signed into law on March 18, 2020, requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division dministers and enforces the new law’s paid leave…
Continue reading ›The coronavirus emergency relief package, which became law Wednesday, gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off work because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig…
Continue reading ›California rings in the New Year and decade with new laws designed to give employees more protections of their rights, and businesses more incentives to leave the state. 1) AB 5: Codifies the ABC Test to determine whether a worker is an Independent Contractor or Employee In 2018, the California Supreme Court held that the…
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