Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks Inc., 14 Cal. 4th 993 (2023)...
Adolph v. Uber Technologies Inc., 14 Cal. 5th 1104 (2023)...
Woodworth v. Loma Linda University Medical Center, No. E072704, 2023 WL 4701976 (Cal. Ct. App. July...more
Summary -
Where an employer can and does track the exact time in minutes that its employees work each shift, and those records show that employees were not paid for all the time they worked, neutral time rounding is not a...more
12/8/2022
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
FMCSA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactivity ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
Introducing: the California Civil Rights Department No, this is not a new government agency. Rather, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) was rebranded as the Civil Rights Department, or CRD, to more...more
9/23/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., holding unpaid meal and rest break premiums can give rise to derivative claims for waiting time...more
Summary: Good-faith dispute about employment status of freelancer who modeled in sporadic one- or two-day increments precluded imposition of waiting-time penalties pursuant to Labor Code section 203. ...more
5/17/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Gunther v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 72 Cal. App. 5th 334 (2021) -
Summary: Heightened civil penalties under Labor Code section 226.3 ($250 & $1,000) do not apply to all violations of section 226, only when the employer...more
2021 brought several changes to the workplace, but employers should have less to fear following this Payne & Fears conference. Join us for a full day of seminars on the most pressing employment law topics, transmitted to you...more
9/24/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Business Expenses ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Evaluations ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Gender Identity ,
Mental Health ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Political Speech ,
Productivity ,
Rate of Pay ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Social Media Policy ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Webinars
Zuniga v. Alexandria Care Ctr., LLC, 67 Cal. App. 5th 871 (2021)
Summary: An expert may rely on inadmissible evidence to form an opinion if the source is reliable.
Facts: Plaintiff Rosalinda Zuniga was employed by...more
Levanoff v. Dragas, Nos. G058480, G058709, 2021 WL 2621360 (Cal. Ct. App. June 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employer did not violate California law by selecting a method of calculating the regular rate of pay that most benefitted...more
On May 28, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed Walmart a groundbreaking win in a wage-and-hour class and California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA") action. Reversing a nearly $102 million...more
California Trucking Association v. Bonta, No. 20-55106, 2021 WL 1656283 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021) -
Summary : The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt the “ABC test” for determining whether a...more
5/12/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Donohue v. AMN Services., LLC, No. S253677, 2021 WL 728871 (Cal. Feb. 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context.
Time records that show...more
This year has been fraught with disruption. To make things easier, Payne & Fears is offering one full day of seminars on pressing employment law topics. Attendees can join from the comfort of their homes or offices. Attend...more
9/24/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Layoffs ,
Misclassification ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars
New legislation enacted. New guidance constantly being released. It’s hard to keep track of how much you now must pay your employees. Payne & Fears has made the process easy with this “cheat sheet.”...more
OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, 8 Cal. 5th 111, 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 714 (2019) -
Summary: Mandatory arbitration agreement may be unenforceable against employee wage claims if agreement requires employee to forego Labor Commissioner...more
11/18/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Berman Hearings ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Reversal ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vacated ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Wage and Hour
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”), controversial legislation which will have a substantial impact on California employers when it goes into effect on January 1, 2020. ...more
9/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
This month’s key California employment law cases are from the California Supreme Court and from the California Court of Appeal.
Janus v. American Fed’n of State, County, and Mun. Employees, Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448...more
7/23/2018
/ Addendums ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Compromise & Release ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
Fair Share Law ,
First Amendment ,
Harassment ,
Hospitals ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Non-Union ,
Public Employees ,
Release of Claims ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Timekeeping ,
Union Dues ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
The California Supreme Court has taken a significant step away from the long-used multifactor test to determine whether individual workers are employees or independent contractors, and toward a test that presumes workers in...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Burden of Proof ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
This month’s key California employment law cases involve civil procedure (class and representative actions) and wage and hour (retaliation) issues....more
7/11/2017
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Attorney Misconduct ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Form I-9 ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Unfair Immigration-Related Practices ,
Voluntary Dismissals ,
Wage and Hour
The news abounds with discussions of fair pay and pay equity. This webinar will cover new developments in California, New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere that pertain to employers in recruiting, promoting, and establishing...more
The California Legislature continues to be very active in passing pro-employee legislation, creating additional compliance burdens and litigation risks for employers. The following summary contains the key new laws employers...more
1/4/2017
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Ban the Box ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Sexual Assault ,
Stalking ,
Teachers ,
Updated Forms ,
Wage and Hour