A decade ago, a California Court of Appeal held that employers lawfully could round employees’ time punches if the rounding policy was neutral on its face and as applied. See See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Super. Ct., 210 Cal. App. 4th 889 (2012). In arriving at this conclusion, the See’s Court relied on regulations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the
Class Actions
July 2022 California Employment Law Notes
We invite you to review our newly-posted July 2022 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
- Summary Judgment Was Properly Granted To Employer In Whistleblower Case
- Job Applicants Need Not Be Paid For Time/Expenses Associated With Drug Testing
- Employer May Have Willfully Violated FCRA By Not Providing Employees Proper Background
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Employer May Have Willfully Violated FCRA By Not Providing Employees Proper Background Check Notice
Hebert v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 78 Cal. App. 5th 791 (2022)
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) requires an employer to provide a job applicant with a standalone disclosure stating that the employer may obtain the applicant’s consumer report when making a hiring decision. In this putative class action, Vicki Hebert alleged that Barnes & Noble willfully violated the FCRA by providing…
Job Applicants Need Not Be Paid For Time/Expenses Associated With Drug Testing
Johnson v. WinCo Foods, LLC, 2022 WL 2112792 (9th Cir. 2022)
Alfred Johnson brought this class action against WinCo, seeking compensation as an “employee” for the time and expense of taking a drug test as a successful applicant for employment. Plaintiffs argued that because the drug tests were administered under the control of the employer, they qualified as “employees” under California law. The district…
Employer Need Not Reimburse Travel Expenses for Drug Test
A federal appeals court recently affirmed a summary judgment entered in favor of WinCo Foods in a class action alleging that WinCo should have reimbursed successful job applicants for the time and travel expenses they incurred in obtaining a drug test as a pre-condition of employment. In Johnson v. WinCo Foods, LLC, the court agreed with a lower court that WinCo was not obligated…
May 2022 California Employment Law Notes
We invite you to review our newly-posted May 2022 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
- Former UCLA Physician Can Proceed With Whistleblower Claims
- Former Employee Adequately Alleged Disability Under The ADA
- California Resident May Rely Upon Labor Code § 925 To Challenge Non-Compete
- School District Is Not Liable For
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Court Improperly Remanded Action To State Court Based On Amount In Controversy Under CAFA
Jauregui v. Roadrunner Transp. Servs., Inc., 28 F.4th 989 (9th Cir. 2022)
Griselda Jauregui filed this putative class action in California state court against Roadrunner Transportation Services on behalf of all current and former hourly workers in California. The complaint alleged numerous violations of California wage and hour law. Roadrunner removed the case to federal court, invoking the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”). Plaintiff…
Trial Court Should Not Have Dismissed PAGA Claims On Unmanageability Grounds
Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., 76 Cal. App. 5th 685 (2022)
In this PAGA case, the trial court relied upon Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, 68 Cal. App. 5th 746 (2021) in which the Court of Appeal held that trial courts have inherent authority to strike unmanageable PAGA claims. The Court of Appeal in this case reversed the dismissal based…
California Supreme Court Rules Meal and Rest Break Premiums Constitute “Wages” Potentially Triggering Penalties for Violations
In a much anticipated ruling, on May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Naranjo et al. v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. Previously, the Court of Appeal held that unpaid premium payments for meal period violations did not entitle employees to additional penalties for either inaccurate wage statements or failure to timely pay wages upon separation of employment. The Court of…
Spring Showers Bring Job Killer Bills to California
Pablo Neruda once said “you can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.” Likewise, California businesses’ protests against oppressive employment legislation don’t seem to stem the tide of the Legislature’s latest batch of anti-employer bills.
The California Chamber of Commerce has just identified a host of recently introduced “Job Killer” Bills pending before the California Legislature. This year’s list includes…