Wage & Hour

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Scheduling employees is becoming more difficult for employers, and the State seems to be hurtling toward predictive scheduling laws.

Last month, my partner Lukas Clary blogged about the recent California Supreme Court case, Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., in which the Court ruled that “reporting time” pay is owed whenever an employee is required to “report” to work, even if that “report” is by phone, instead of physically showing up for work. In Tilly’s, the employer required employees to call in two hours before their shift to find out whether they were needed, or not.  If needed, the employees would come to work; if not, Tilly’s did not pay the employees any compensation.  The Court ruled that this was a violation of the applicable Wage Order, finding that Tilly’s requirement that employees phone in, triggered the obligation to pay the employee a “reporting time” premium (between one and four hours of pay). 
Continue Reading Do California Employers Have Any Scheduling Flexibility Options Left?

Minimum Wage Hikes Leave Businesses Feeling the Pinch

by Scott Rodd, Sacramento Business Journal

California’s minimum wage is set to increase annually over the next three years, and businesses large and small are feeling the pinch.

On Jan. 1, the minimum wage rose from $11 to $12 for companies with more than 25 employees, and from $10.50 to $11 for companies with 25 or fewer employees. The state minimum wage will increase to $15 in 2022 for companies with more than 25 employees and in 2023 for companies with 25 or fewer employees. That increase is up from $10 an hour — or $10.50 for companies with more than 25 employees — in 2017.
Continue Reading In the News: Lizbeth West In SBJ Article “California Raising the Minimum Wage is Causing a Domino Effect”

Figuring out how many employees to schedule each day can be an inexact science. Unexpected surges or lulls in customers, employee absences due to illness or emergencies, and various other circumstances can impact personnel needs.  Employers sometimes choose to navigate these situations by overscheduling and then cutting loose employees who are not ultimately needed.  That approach, however, triggers “reporting time” obligations, under which those employees are entitled to a minimum amount of pay for reporting for work. But what does it mean to “report for work”?  What if an employer allows employees to call in a few hours before a scheduled shift to determine whether they are needed? Are employees required to physically show up to trigger reporting time obligations, or do these phone calls constitute “reporting for work” for this purpose? The answer is the latter according to a recent California appellate court in Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc.
Continue Reading Employees Are Entitled to Reporting Time Pay if Required to Call In to Confirm Shifts

Summary of Program

With the ever increasing number of claims filed with the Department of Labor and California Labor Commissioner for unpaid overtime, and the increasing number of wage and hour class action lawsuits, the importance of correctly classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt is clear.  This seminar is designed to help employers and HR professionals gain a more thorough understanding of the various exemptions available under California law and learn how to conduct an exemption analysis in order to reduce potential liability.
Continue Reading Upcoming Seminar: Exempt Status – More Than Just a Salary

Summary of Program

The risks involved in misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee have always been serious. A number of federal and state agencies regulate the proper classification of workers and have the authority to impose significant monetary and non-monetary sanctions against employers who get the classification wrong. In 2018, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that made independent contractor status even harder to establish under some circumstances – so now the risk of misclassification is amplified!
Continue Reading Upcoming Seminar: Independent Contractors v. Employees – Do Independent Contractors Still Exist?