Labor Law

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By: Lizbeth V. West, Esq.

Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 462 which places restrictions on an employer’s ability to recoup attorney’s fees when it prevails in an unpaid wage or benefit claim.

Labor Code section 218.5 previously provided that except in certain circumstances, in an action brought for the nonpayment of wages, fringe benefits, or health and welfare or pension fund contributions, a court was to award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party if any party to the action requests attorney’s fees and costs upon the initiation of the action. SB 462 amends section 218.5 to provide that where the prevailing party is the employer, attorney’s fees and costs can only be awarded if the court finds the employee brought the wage and hour action in bad faith.Continue Reading Amendment to the Labor Code Makes it Harder for Employers to Get Attorney’s Fees if They Prevail in an Unpaid Wage or Benefit Claim

The FSMA is the most extensive change to the U.S. food safety system in more than 70 years. Signed into law in 2011, the FSMA directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue numerous regulations directed toward enhancing food safety and minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses. As with almost every law nowadays, the FSMA contains a whistleblower provision to ostensibly “advance the broad goals” of the new law.
Continue Reading Food and Beverage Companies Beware: New Risks Associated with Whistleblower Protections Under the Food Safety Modernization Act

By:  Lizbeth V. West

As many California employers are learning the hard way these days, the misclassification of workers as independent contractors rather than employees can have far reaching consequences when an employer is audited by different governmental agencies during either a random audit or an audit that is prompted in response to a claim…

By:  Shauna N. Correia

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), employers are generally required to pay overtime wages to employees who work longer than 40 hours per week. The FLSA provides several exceptions to this rule. Those "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity[,] . . . or in the capacity of outside salesman," for example, are exempt from the statute’s minimum wage and maximum hour requirements. Whether mortgage loan officers (who typically assist prospective borrowers in identifying and then applying for various mortgage offerings) qualify for this "administrative exemption" has been the subject of some debate, even within the Department of Labor.Continue Reading Mortgage Loan Officers Exempt? Don’t Take it to the Bank Just Yet