We invite you to review our newly-posted May 2024 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
California Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Compensable “Hours Worked”
Huerta v. CSI Elec. Contractors, 15 Cal. 5th 908 (2024)
This decision arose from a class action asserting wage claims on behalf of contractors hired to assist with “procurement, installation, construction, and testing services” at a solar power facility on privately-owned land. The California Supreme Court answered three questions certified by the Ninth Circuit as follows:
- An employee’s time spent on an employer’s premises
California Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Compensable “Hours Worked”
On March 25, 2024, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Huerta v. CSI Electrical Contractors, Case No. S275431, providing additional guidance on compensable “hours worked” under California law. In a class action asserting wage claims on behalf of contractors at a construction site, the Supreme Court answered three questions certified by the Ninth Circuit as follows:
First, the Court held
PAGA Wage Statement Claim Does Not Require Proof of Injury
Raines v. Coastal Pac. Food Distrib., Inc., 23 Cal. App. 5th 667 (2018)
Terri Raines sued Coastal Pacific individually and under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) for failure to furnish her and other employees accurate itemized wage statements showing the applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate as required
California Rejects Federal Rule For Calculating Overtime Rate For Employees Who Earn Flat Sum Bonus
Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of Cal., 2018 WL 1146645 (Cal. S. Ct. 2018)
Hector Alvarado, who worked as a warehouse associate for Dart, is a member of a putative class of employees who, in addition to their normal hourly wages, received a $15 per day attendance bonus if they were scheduled to work on a Saturday or Sunday and did so, completing their
Claims For Civil Penalties Under Private Attorneys General Act Were Properly Dismissed
Caliber Bodyworks, Inc. v. Superior Court, 134 Cal. App. 4th 365 (2005)
Four former employees of Caliber Bodyworks filed a complaint for various wage-and-hour violations on behalf of themselves and as class representatives and for civil penalties for these violations. Caliber demurred to the entire complaint on the ground that plaintiffs had failed to allege they had satisfied the administrative prerequisites of the Labor
Employees Should Have Been Paid For Time Spent Getting Into And Out Of Protective Gear
Alvarez v. IBP, Inc., 339 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2003)
Meat packing employees of IBP, Inc. (the world’s largest producer of fresh beef, pork and related products) filed a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employees (all of whom were non-exempt from the overtime requirements of state and federal law) alleged that they should have been