EMPLOYMENT LAW NEWSLETTERS

April 2012

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW ALERT

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT ISSUES LONG-AWAITED BRINKER DECISION ON MEAL AND REST PERIOD RULES THAT EMPLOYER MUST NOW FOLLOW

Background of the Brinker Litigation

The case began in 2004 when five non-exempt employees of Chili's claimed the restaurant illegally denied them meal and rest breaks.  The complaint was certified as a class action suit that was estimated to include approximately 60,000 current and former employees.  Brinker Restaurant Corp., the parent company of Chili's, appealed to the Court of Appeal the class certification order issued by the trial court.  Click here to read more>

January 2012

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW ALERT - FOLLOW UP

DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS ENFORCEMENT ("DLSE") FINALLY RELEASES EMPLOYEE NOTICE TEMPLATE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH CALIFORNIA'S NEW HIRE DISCLOSURE LAW

In Rynn & Janowsky, LLP's last Employment Law Alert, we provided a summary of the notice provisions in California's new Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011, which went into effect on January 1, 2012 under Labor Code sec. 2810.5. The notice does not apply to employees who are exempt from the payment of overtime wages by statute or the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission.  Click here to read more >

January 2012

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAW ALERT

TWO NEW LABOR CODE SECTIONS IMPACT EMPLOYERS AT START OF 2012

Effective January 1, 2012, a number of new empoyment laws take effect which will impact many of our clients, but there are two new Labor Code provisions that are bound to impact ALL California employers.  Click here to read more >

Summer 2010

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT EXPANDS DEFINITIONS OF "EMPLOYER" FOR OVERTIME AND MINIMUM WAGE LAWSUITS

In its recent decision, Martinez v. Combs et al., the California Supreme Court expanded, and yet also limited, the universe of employers who will now have liability exposure for unpaid wages under Section 1164 of the California Labor Code.  The Court adopted the Industrial Welfare Commission's definition of employer as one who exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of the employee, who suffers or permits the employee to work or who hires the employee.  Click here to read more >

2009 Update

NEW 2009 FEDERAL AND CALIFORNIA LAWS FOR EMPLOYERS AND COMPLIANCE TIPS

New Federal Laws

The American with Disabilities Amendment Act 

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 is extremely significant because it makes important changes to the way that the term "disability" is interpreted (including that the word shall be construed in favor of broad coverages), which will have a sweeping impact on employers, as follows:

• Employers must determine whether an employee or job applicant's impairment "substantially limits" a major life activity (which is key in determining whether the impairment is a "disability") without considering corrective factors such as medication, hearing aids or cochlear implants, mobility equipment (a wheel-chair, for example) and prosthetic devices.  Click here to read more >
  
  

September 2005

UNANIMOUS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HOLDS THAT EMPLOYEE MAY SUE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT WHEN SHE IS DENIED PROMOTION OVER EMPLOYEE THAT HAD CONSENSUAL AFFAIR WITH MANAGER

The Prison Warden Runs Amuck

Plaintiffs, Edna Miller and Frances Mackey, were two former employees at the Valley State Prison for Women.  Over a period of several ye rs, the prison's warden, Lewis Kuykendall, had sexual affairs with three subordinate employees.  There was evidence that the affairs began in 1991 and continued until 1998.  When Kuykendall transferred from one prison to work at another, he arranged for his sexual partners to be transferred to the new institution to join him.  A unanimous California Supreme Court, in Miller v. Department of Corrections (July 18, 2005), concluded that both Plaintiffs were the victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, because the consensual sexual affairs of the warden with at least three women employees (who were accorded widespread favoritism at the prison) created a hostile work environment.  Click here to read more >

November 2004

EMPLOYERS BEWARE: AMBIGUOUS SUPERVISORY COMMENTS AND "CODE WORDS" CAN CREATE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM

In its recent decision, McGinest v. GTE Corp., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that allegations of a racially hostile workplace must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable person belonging to plaintiff's racial group.  An African American employee sued GTE under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 alleging the employer created a racially hostile work environment and that his failure to receive a promotion was due to racial discrimination. Click here to read more >

December 2003

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS MUST CONFRONT WAGE AND HOUR ISSUES OR FACE FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES

Wal-Mart Faces Multi-Million Dollar Class Action Lawsuits and California's Labor Commissioner Assesses Huge Fines Against Employers for Allegedly Violating Meal and Rest Period Laws

Meal Periods are Addressed in the Labor Code and IWC Orders

Lunch and other breaks will never be viewed the same by Wal-mart after two judges-one in Minnesota and the others in Califirnia - certified class action lawsuits in early November on behalf of nearly 200,000 Wal-mart employees.  According to these lawsuits, which ask for damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, Wal-mart employees are routinely asked or forced - due to understaffing - to shorten or forgo their lunch and restbreaks.  Several California employers are also reeling from citations that the California Labor Commissioner recently issued seeking substantial fines - some in excess of $500,00 - for alleged violations of California's meal and rest period laws.  What's going on?  It's not that difficult to comply with the lunch and restbreak laws.  Right?  Well, as with many laws, the "devil is in the details."  Click here to read more >

January 2003

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS ARE SURE TO HAVE A "HANG-OVER" AS THEY "RING-IN" THE NEW YEAR WITH NO SHORTAGE OF NEW EMPLOYMENT LAWS TO IMPLEMENT AT THE WORKPLACE

New Paid Family Leave

Paid Benefits to Employees: Provides disability compensation for any individual who cannot work due to the sickness or injury of a family member, or the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a new child.  The benefits are provided through additional employee contributions and not employer taxes or payments.

Key Provisions: (1) One week waiting period before workers can apply for the program; (2) Employers may mandate that employees use up to two weeks of unused vacation time before receiving paid leave; and (3) Payments are capped at six weeks over a 12 month period and a 55 percent of wages, up to an annually-adjusted maximum. 

Application to Employers with Less than 50 Employees:  All employees are eligible for benefits regardless of the size of the employer.  This law does not require small businesses with less than 50 employees to hold a job open for an employee on leave.  However, the new Sick Leave Conditions law discussed below steps into this void.  It forbids any California employer with at least one employee to take adverse action (including discipline and discharge) against an employee for a leave of absence due to the sickness or injury of a family member, or birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a new child.  Click here to read more >

November 2001

LAYOFF AND TERMINATION OF EMPLOYEES IN A RECESSION: HOW EMPLOYERS CAN MINIMIZE RISKS OF VIOLATING FEDERAL AND STATE DISCRMINATION LAWS

Implementing a "RIF"

Recent headlines in the newspapers abound with announcements from corporations about massive layoffs of employees in practically all sectors of the economy.  And while most economists predict the downward economy (or "recession") will not be long term, many employers, large and small, must simply cut labor costs to weather the storm, so to speak.  To minimize liability, an employer planning a reduction in force ("RIF") or corporate reorganization or downsizing should engage in a systematic review of its workforce composition and consider the steps outlined below. Click here to read more >