The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 becomes effective July 1, 2015, and requires all California employers to provide their employees with at least 3 days (24 hours) of paid sick leave per year. Further, the new law applies to all employees (non-exempt, exempt, temporary, part-time, and seasonal) who work in California 30 days…
On January 1, 2015 Assembly Bill 1897 goes into effect. AB 1897 amends Labor Code section 2810 by creating a new Labor Code section 2810.3. The new law targets employers that use labor contractors (i.e. staffing agencies). Specifically, once AB 1897 becomes effective, private employers will be unable to deny liability for labor contractor’s failure…
In Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16585 (9th Cir., Aug. 27, 2014), the Ninth Circuit held that under California’s Right-To-Control Test, the FedEx drivers were “employees” and not independent contractors. Specifically, the court found that FedEx controlled the manner and means by which the drivers completed their jobs, and…
In Castaneda v. The Ensign Group (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 15, 2014), the California Court of Appeal held that a “corporation with no employees [that] exercises some control over [a] corporation with employees, [] may be the employer of the employees of the corporation it owns.” The Court found that there were triable issues of…
Labor Code section 2802 obligates an employer to indemnify its employee for the necessary expenditures or losses incurred as a direct consequence of the employee’s discharge of his or her duties, including the obligation to indemnify an employee who is sued by third parties for conduct that was within the course and scope of employment (i.e. paying any judgments and attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the action. However, the Court in Nicholas Laboratories, LLC v. Chen held that Labor Code section 2802 does not require an employer to indemnify a former employee in an unsuccessful first party suit by the employer against the former employee. The Court left open the possibility of indemnification pursuant to Corporations Code section 317, which provides that a corporation must indemnify its agent if the agent is successful on the merits in defending against an action by the…
California Labor Code section Section 2802 provides, in pertinent part, “(a) An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful,…
The California Supreme Court’s decision in Martinez v. Combs (2010) 49 Cal.4th 35 (“Martinez”) sets forth the law which governs the issue of whether an employer-employee relationship exists in the context of a wage claim. In Martinez the California Supreme Court defined an “employer” as one who, directly or indirectly, or through an agent or…
Under California law, if an employer fails to keep adequate records, employees suing to recover wages can meet their burden of proof simply by testifying that they performed work for which they have not been properly compensated. They do not have to prove the precise hours worked. They need only produce sufficient evidence to show…
Many employers mistakenly believe that if they pay a “salary” to an employee then they do not have to pay that employee overtime pay. Employers – this is NOT correct! Many employees who are paid a salary are also entitled to receive overtime pay. If an employee is paid a salary, that employee is still…
California minimum wage increased from $8.00 per hour to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2014. Effective January 1, 2016, minimum wage will increase to $10.00 per hour. [AB 10]
California Labor Code Section 226.8 provides that employers can be penalized $5,000 to $25,000 “per violation” for intentionally misclassifying employees as independent contractors. When employees are misclassified and employers do not provide wage deduction statements to the misclassified employee, then the employer will be subject to additional penalties under Labor Code section 226.3. Section 226.3…
Effective January 1, 2014, Employers who prevail in a wage claim can only recover its fees and costs if it can establish that the employee’s wage claim was brought in “bad faith.” [SB 462]
