For some industries, and in particular, construction, periods of slow work are inevitable.  When no work is available, many employers place their employees on “furlough” – an unpaid, non-working status, but still on the Company “books” – because the employer doesn’t want to deal with terminating and re-hiring the employee.  In California, an employer may temporarily furlough but only if the furlough is truly short-term. Under longstanding guidance from the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) which was confirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Hartstein v. Hyatt Corporation, the label of “furlough” or “temporary layoff” is not decisive; what matters is the lack of a specific return-to-work date within that pay period.  As such, a furlough that extends beyond the length of the employer’s regular pay period is considered a termination or “layoff” for wage-and-hour purposes.Continue Reading Furloughs Extending Beyond a Standard Pay Period Are Treated as Terminations