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Employer Held Statutorily Obligated to Reimburse Employee's Work-From-Home Expenses

In Thai v. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. No. A165390 (July 11, 2023), the Court of Appeal of the State of California First Appellate District, held that under Labor Code section 2802(a), the employer is required...more

Employer’s Inconsistent Application of Written Rest Break Policies Will Not Create Predominance of Individual Inquiries in Class...

On June 17, 2022, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three (Los Angeles), issued an opinion in Meza v. Pacific Bell Telephone Company (B317119, June 17, 2022) __ Cal.App.5th ___. In this...more

Employees No Longer Need to Satisfy McDonnell Douglas Test for Whistleblower Retaliation Claims

The California Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. (S266001, Jan. 27, 2022), addressing the Ninth Circuit’s question of the proper method for presenting and evaluating a claim of...more

California’s Meal and Rest Break Regulations are Preempted by Federal Hours of Service Regulations for Both Long Haul and Short...

In the matter of Espinoza v. Hepta Run, Inc., et al. (Cal. Ct. App., Jan. 19, 2022, No. B306292) 2022 WL 167770, the Court of Appeal considered the following issue: Whether the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s...more

Employer Beware of "Premium Pay" Calculations

In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC (“Ferra”), the Supreme Court held that the term “regular rate of compensation” under Labor Code section 226.7, which requires payment for not providing an employee with a compliant meal,...more

SB 1159 Extends COVID-19 Presumption of Compensability

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1159. The bill replaces Newsom’s Executive Order N-62-20 and extends the presumption of industrial injury to certain employees who fulfill the criteria...more

California Employers Catch New COVID-19 Reporting Obligations

As soon as Governor Newsom signs the bill, California employers must abide by SB 1159 which creates for some employees an expanded presumption that COVID-19 caused illness or death qualifies for workers’ compensation...more

Employer Required to Pay Out Unused Vacation Under an Unwritten, Unspecified and Purportedly Unlimited Paid Time Off Policy

On April 1, 2020, the California Court of Appeal, Second District (Los Angeles) in McPherson v. EF Intercultural Foundation, Inc. (B290869), addressed the issue of whether an employee’s right to paid time off (under an...more

WARN Act Exceptions in Response to COVID-19

California’s WARN Act requires employers of certain covered establishments to provide 60 days written notice of any mass layoff, relocation, or termination. This notice is required to be given to employees and the Employment...more

Use of Unregistered Acronym on Paychecks Violates Labor Code Section 226

The California Legislature has enacted strict requirements regulating the content that appears on employee wage statements. Labor Code section 226 sets forth the requirements in an extensive list, such as the requirements...more

Supreme Court Prevents Employees’ Tort and Contract Claims Against Employers’ Payroll Companies

In Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC (S238941), the California Supreme Court has created new protections for payroll companies in lawsuits involving claims of labor violations. Although previous case law has held that employees with...more

Separate Compensation of Rest Breaks in Piece-Rate System Confirmed

In the matter of Jimenez-Sanchez v. Dark Horse Express, Inc. (F072599), the court confirmed that employees paid on a piece-rate basis required additional, separate compensation for rest breaks. The defendant in the case was...more

Employer’s Failure to Keep Accurate Work Hour Records Opens Door for Employee’s Overtime Claim

In Furry v. East Bay Publishing (A151986, Filed 12/12/2018), a California appeals court held that imprecise evidence by an employee can provide a sufficient basis for damages when the employer fails to keep accurate records...more

Hotel Housekeeper Overcomes Workers’ Compensation Exclusivity to Maintain FEHA Action for Assault

In M.F. v. Pacific Pearl Hotel Management LLC (Cal. Ct. App., Oct. 26, 2017, No. D070150) 2017 WL 4831603, a hotel housekeeper (known as M.F. to preserve her privacy) was assaulted and raped at work by a trespasser known to...more

Context Is Key in Age Discrimination Cases

In Charles T. Merrick v. Hilton Worldwide, Inc., et. al. (No. 14-56853, filed 8/16/17), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit applied a nuanced analysis within the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting...more

Employee Given Two Bites of the Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Apple

It is well-established that the workers’ compensation system serves as the exclusive remedy for an employee who suffers injuries arising during the course and scope of employment, including psychiatric injuries. Recently,...more

Court Orders Retreat From Workers’ Compensation Apportionment To Non-industrial Causes

Workers’ compensation litigation often is driven by disagreement over the apportionment of permanent disability. A vast body of case law exists reflecting the courts’ efforts to resolve conflicts between the provisions of the...more

Employer’s Refusal To Allow Rescission of an Employee’s Voluntary Resignation Does Not Constitute Adverse Employment Action Under...

In Featherstone v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, (No. B275225, filed 4/19/17), the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held absent evidence an employee’s resignation was coerced, an...more

Employees Paid on Commission Basis Must Be Compensated Separately for Rest Periods

In Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture, LLC, (No. B269657, filed 2/28/17) the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held employers must separately compensate their commission based employees for mandatory...more

No Need To Leave The Light On: Motel 6 Not Required To Identify Monetary Value of Employee’s Accrued Vacation on Wage Statement

In Lidia Soto v. Motel 6 Operating, L.P., (Superior Court No. 37-2015-00017074-CI-OE-CTL), published October 20, 2016, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District unanimously rejected an employee’s argument that her...more

How Not To Write An Employment Agreement Arbitration Clause: Court Of Appeal Rejects One Sided Clause As Procedurally And...

In Carlson v. Home Team Pest Defense, Inc. (Ct. of Appeal A142219), published August 17, 2015, the Court of Appeal held that an employer’s arbitration clause which allowed only the employer to file lawsuits for certain...more

“Something We Cannot Do”: Mies Confirms Limited Review of Class Certification Orders

In Mies v. Sephora U.S.A., Inc., No. A139410, published February 26, 2015 (Mies), the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District held that a trial court’s broad discretion to rule on class certification encompasses...more

IWC Wage Order Found Partially Invalid for Second Meal Period Waiver

In Gerard v. Orange County Memorial Medical Center, 2015 Cal.App. LEXIS 132, the Court of Appeal found Wage Order No. 5, Section 11(D) of Industrial Welfare Commission ("IWC") wage order No. 5-2001 (Cal. Code Regs., title 8,...more

Employment Law Alert: Parties Ordered to Arbitrate Despite Incomplete Arbitration Agreement

In Cruise v. Kroger Co., the Court of Appeal held a clear arbitration clause in an employment application, standing alone, was sufficient to establish the existence of an agreement between the employee and employer to...more

Employment Alert: Security Guards Entitled to Compensation for On-Call Hours Spent Under Employer’s Control

In Mendiola v. CPS Sec. Solutions, Inc., 2015 WL 107082, published January 8, 2015, the California Supreme Court held that: (1) on-call hours at a worksite represented “hours worked” for overtime purposes when the employer...more

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