We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2024 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
FLSA
Health Care “Opt-Out Credits” Do Not Count Towards Calculation Of FLSA Regular Rate of Pay
Sanders v. County of Ventura, 87 F.4th 434 (9th Cir. 2023)
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer (Ventura County) in this putative class action arising under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), brought by county firefighters and police officers who opted out of their union- and employer-sponsored health plans. The employees who…
November 2023 California Employment Law Notes
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
- Company That Hired Competitor’s Employee Was Not Entitled To Arbitrate Claims
- Disability Discrimination Claim Was Properly Dismissed On Summary Judgment
- Employee’s Attorney’s “Pervasive Incivility” Justified $460,000 Reduction In Fees
- Employees Were Properly Awarded $7.2 Million
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Employer Improperly Delayed Pay To Employees Terminated After Onset Of COVID-19
Hartstein v. Hyatt Corp., 82 F.4th 825 (9th Cir. 2023)
Karen Hartstein represents a certified class of former Hyatt employees who were laid off after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The class alleged that Hyatt violated California law by failing to pay them immediately for their accrued vacation time and by failing to compensate them for the value of the…
March 2023 California Employment Law Notes
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:
- No Claim By Employee Who Was Friends With Alleged Harasser
- Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Was Properly Dismissed
- Employer That Failed To Layoff Employee Before She Became Disabled May Have Discriminated
- Court Compels Individual But Not
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Absent Exemption, Highly Compensated Daily-Rate Workers Are Entitled To Overtime
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…
Congress Adds Additional Protections for Pregnant Workers
In the recent $1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, two measures were included aimed at providing additional workplace protections for pregnant employees.
The first measure is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”) which applies to employers with 15 or more employees. The PWFA extends the framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees…
November 2018 California Employment Law Notes
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2018 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
- Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Was An Unenforceable Restraint
- Employer Was Not Liable For Accident Involving Employee Who Was Talking On Her Cell Phone
- Injured Employee May Have Been “Regarded As” Disabled Under The ADA
- Dean Of
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Employer May Not Take Tip Credit For Employees Engaged In Non-Tipped Tasks
Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, 905 F.3d 610 (9th Cir. 2018) (en banc)
Plaintiffs in this case alleged that their employers abused the tip credit provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by paying them a reduced tip credit wage and treating them as tipped employees when they were engaged in either non-tipped tasks unrelated to serving and bartending or…
FLSA’s De Minimis Doctrine Does Not Apply To California “Off-The-Clock” Claims
Troester v. Starbucks Corp., 5 Cal. 5th 829 (2018)
In this opinion, the California Supreme Court answered a legal question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: “Does the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s de minimis doctrine…apply to claims for unpaid wages under California Labor Code sections 510, 1194 and 1197?” The California Supreme Court answered the question as…