California employers, who, only thirteen months ago, thought they no longer had to worry about wage/hour class actions by employees over meal and other rest breaks need to worry again. When the California Supreme Court handed down its blockbuster decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, 53 Cal.4th 1004 (2012), thirteen months ago, California … Continue Reading
Under California law, employers must provide their employees with wage statements that contain nine specific categories of information. See Cal. Labor Code § 226(a)(1)-(9). Plaintiffs in California wage and hour actions regularly and routinely have included section 226 claims with other wage allegations, claiming non-compliance by employers. And until January 1, 2013, employers have, in some circumstances, … Continue Reading
We’ve opened our new Houston office with an excellent pair of Labor & Employment attorneys, Wanda Holloway and Fazila Issa, as well several other top-notch lawyers. Click here to learn more.… Continue Reading
Our Global Regulatory Enforcement colleagues Lisa B. Kim, Steven Boranian and Joshua B. Marker have written a blog post discussing a proposed amendment to California’s “Shine the Light” law seeks to require companies to disclose more detailed information about their data-sharing practices, while giving consumers the ability to bring class action lawsuits under the legislation. To … Continue Reading
Newly-amended state regulations effective December 30, 2012 have expanded the definition of “disabled by pregnancy.” The amended regulations now also expressly provide that a woman is “disabled by pregnancy” if she suffers from severe “morning sickness” or needs time off for: prenatal or postnatal care; bed rest; gestational diabetes; pregnancy-induced hypertension; preeclampsia, post-partum depression; childbirth; loss … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Paul D. Fogel. On February 7, 2013 the California Supreme Court issued its much-awaited opinion in Harris v. City of Santa Monica, announcing whether and to what extent a “mixed motive” defense is available to an employer under the Fair Employment Housing Act (“FEHA”). Although a mixed bag, the holding … Continue Reading
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act protects employees from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation by their employers on the basis of several protected categories, including sex and religion. Two amendments clarifying the scope of these protected categories became effective January 1, 2013.… Continue Reading
New California Labor Code Section 980, restricting employer access to employees’ personal social media, goes into effect on January 1, 2013. California will become the third state, behind Maryland and Illinois, to enact a law to restrict employer access to employee and applicant social media. … Continue Reading
An amendment to California Labor Code Section 1198.5 goes into effect on January 1, 2013, relating to employee access to personnel records. At a current or former employee’s request, an employer must make the employee’s file available for inspection and — new for 2013 — provide a copy of an employee’s personnel records to that … Continue Reading
Under California Labor Code 2751 (amended in 2012), effective January 1, 2013, employers must provide all commissioned employees who render services in California with a written contract detailing the method by which the commission shall be computed and paid. This law applies to all employers (both in-state and out-of-state) who pay commissions to employees working … Continue Reading
