Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act (the “Act”), a bill that, if enacted, would lower the threshold for a “standard” workweek by 20 percent, from 40 to 32 hours. Should the Act become law, it would have a significant impact on employers not just in California but across the nation. (Of course, there’s always a California connection—companion legislation, H.R. 1332
Dominguez v. Better Mortgage Corp., 88 F.4th 782 (9th Cir. 2023)
Underwriter Lorenzo Dominguez filed this putative class and collective action against his former employer, alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime to him and other similarly situated underwriters. After Dominguez filed the lawsuit, his former employer allegedly attempted to persuade other underwriters at the company not to participate in the
We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. ___, 143 S. Ct. 677 (2023)
Oil rig worker Michael Hewitt earned over $200,000 per year but did not receive overtime compensation. Hewitt was paid on a “daily-rate” basis, i.e., Hewitt’s biweekly paycheck was calculated based on a daily rate which was multiplied by the number of days he worked during the pay period. Helix
We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
Espinoza v. Warehouse Demo Servs., Inc., 86 Cal. App. 5th 1184 (2022)
Georgina Espinoza, an employee of Warehouse Demo Services (“Warehouse”), worked in a Costco and performed demonstrations of products. Warehouse did not lease the space, but instead collects floor space on behalf of the companies whose products are demonstrated and then remits payment on their behalf to Costco. Espinoza brought a class action
Lemm v. Ecolab Inc., 2023 WL 21795 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023)
Stephen Lemm, a route sales manager, brought a PAGA action against his employer, Ecolab, Inc., alleging that Ecolab improperly calculated nondiscretionary bonuses. Pursuant to Ecolab’s incentive plan, an employee could receive a higher monthly bonus based on performance as a percent of gross wages. For the purpose of calculating the bonus, gross wages
To properly calculate the overtime rate for a non-exempt employee, employers must first calculate the “regular rate of pay.” Under federal law, and the laws of most states, the regular rate is determined by dividing the employee’s total weekly remuneration (except for a handful of categories that are specifically excluded, such as gifts and payments for non-working hours) by the total number of hours actually worked by the employee that week. But certain states, including California, require a different calculation—one that, depending on the nature of the compensation, can only be divided by some, but not all, of the total hours worked in the week.
In recent years, countries such as Iceland and Belgium and some domestic companies have experimented with the concept of four-day workweeks. Now, a new bill proposed by California Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Evan Low (D-San Jose), Assembly Bill 2932 (“AB 2932”), proposes to make a four-day workweek the new normal in California for non-exempt employees.
Under existing law, both California’s Labor Code