California law operates to ensure employers provide employees with the equipment and resources necessary to work and protect employees by preventing employers from passing operating expenses on to employees. To that end, the Labor Code mandates that California...
Wage And Hour Law
Ninth Circuit Reverses $100+ Million Wage Statement Ruling Against Walmart
In a significant victory for California employers, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a $102 million award against Walmart in a suit alleging that the retailer violated the California Labor Code's wage statement and meal-break provisions. The decision is...
Can my employer pay men and women different salaries?
The California Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for employees who perform “substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions.” The Fair Pay Act and Equal Pay Act are intended to...
Are You an Employee or Independent Contractor under California law?
One of the most common mistakes made by employers is misclassifying employees as independent contractors. While some employers misclassify workers because they do not understand the law, other employers intentionally do so to avoid their legal obligations to...
Who Is Entitled to Severance Pay?
Severance pay is a benefit offered by some employers to involuntarily terminated employees. The amount of severance pay offered is usually based on the length of employment. Unfortunately, under no federal law, including the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, are...
Employee Rights Regarding Schedule Changes
Unfortunately for employees, most employers don't have any legal obligation to provide their employees with notice prior to changing their work schedules regardless of how abrupt or drastic the schedule change is. There are few exceptions, however. Employers must...
When You Should Receive Your Final Paycheck After Leaving a Job
When an employee is supposed to receive their final paycheck from their employer is dependent on the state they live on and possibly on the nature of the separation. According to federal law, which establishes a minimum requirement, employers are required to issue a...
The Truth About Holiday Pay
People often call our office asking if they can open a wage claim for nonpayment of wages because their employer forced them to work on a federal holiday and did not pay them overtime or double-time rate for hours worked. Unfortunately, the answer is no. According to...
Minimum wage increase for California employees
On January 1, 2019, the minimum wage in California increased to $12 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $11 per hour for employees with 25 or fewer employees*. Some employees, however, are exempt from the minimum wage law, including outside...
Overtime Compensation in California
California's basic overtime provisions are expressed in section 510 of the state Labor Code. Section 510 mandates that employees who work more than eight hours in a single workday, more than 40 hours in a single workweek, or up to eight hours on the seventh...