California - Wage & Hour

Under current California law, employers may ask job applicants about their wages in current or former jobs. A new ordinance in San Francisco, however, will make such inquiries illegal.

On July 19, 2017, Mayor Ed Lee signed an ordinance that will significantly affect the hiring practices of San Francisco employers. When Ordinance No. 170350 becomes operative on July 1, 2018, it will be illegal for employers to inquire about a job applicant’s salary history or to provide such inform

On June 30, 2017, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed the “Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance” (“Ordinance”), increasing protections for nursing mothers working in San Francisco. The Ordinance becomes effective January 1, 2018, and applies to anyone employed within the “geographic boundaries” of San

A trier of fact can make reasonable inferences about employees’ duties to determine status for overtime pay under California labor law, the California Court of Appeal has ruled, affirming the trial court’s holding. Batze v. Safeway, Inc., No. B258732 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 4, 2017).

The sick leave landscape is constantly evolving, and the City of Angeles is no exception to that rule. This past month the City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards (“OWS”) revised its rules and regulations (“Revised Rules”) as well the FAQs regarding its Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinanc

The minimum salary to qualify for a "white collar" overtime exemption in California has been higher than that required under federal law for many years. Because California's exempt salary threshold is tied to the state minimum wage (an exempt employee generally must earn a salary of at least two tim

Executive Summary: The effects of the California Supreme Court’s latest interpretation to provide seating to workers are beginning to show, as the United States District Court for the Central District of California recently approved a $700,000 settlement against a major retail clothing company for f

The California Court of Appeal has held that: (1) the use of payroll service provider generated unique employee file numbers on employee wage statements, in lieu of the employer’s internal employee identification number or last four digits of employee social security numbers, is legally permissible

On February 28, 2017, in Vaquero, et al. v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District ruled that Wage Order 7-2001 (mercantile industry) requires employers to separately compensate non-exempt commissioned employees for rest breaks. It further held that the s

The California Fair Pay Act (CFPA) took effect a little over a year ago (January 2016) but already has been expanded to

This week, a California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, holding that an employer violated California law by failing to pay commissioned employees for rest breaks. California law requires that employees be provided with a paid 10-minute rest break for each

Developments at the local and state level have affected what employers must do to comply with the San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (“SF PPLO” or the “Ordinance”).1 The SF PPLO took effect on January 1, 2017 (for employers with 50 or more employees), and the San Francisco Office of Labor S

Under California law, employers’ policies may permit rounding of employee timecard entries to the nearest tenth of an hour (six minutes), the Fourth Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal has affirmed. Silva v. See’s Candy Shops, Inc., No. D068136 (Dec. 9, 2016, published Jan. 5, 2017)

Employers in San José, California, must offer additional work hours to existing qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees beginning March 13, 2017, under the Opportunity to Work Ordinance.

Recently California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) issued an FAQ concerning 2016 legislative changes that impact the state minimum wage in 2017 and future years. The most notable change was the creation of a two-tier system in which a $10.50 minimum wage rate applies to employers

Starting January 1, 2017, California now has two different minimum wages – $10.00 per hour for “small” employers, and $10.50 for “large” employers. This “two-tier” minimum wage structure will remain in place for the next seven years, and will provide several ongoing challenges for employers in the G

A class of security guards received an early holiday present from the California Supreme Court on December 22.

Executive Summary: After a years-long battle, the California Supreme Court finally issued a ruling defining what it means for an employer to provide a rest break to non-exempt employees under California law: rest breaks cannot be “on-duty” or “on-call,” as employers must relieve their employees of a

Today the California Supreme Court issued a surprising and unfortunate decision in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., holding that employers cannot require employees to remain “on-call” during rest breaks, even though these short breaks are part of the employees’ paid hours worked. The Court h

For several years, California employers have been required to notify employees regarding the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Beginning January 1, 2017, new California law (AB 1847) requires those same employers to also notify employees that they may be eligible for the California Earned Income Tax