SUTTON | HAGUE

Classifying, and defending the decision to classify, the independent contractor status of workers in California just became more difficult. Last year on April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court adopted a new test to determine whether workers are independent contractors or employees under California’s wage orders in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. Recently, on May 2, 2019, the […]

Last month, a California Court of Appeal ruled that requiring an employee to call into work prior to the start of an on-call shift triggers the employer’s responsibility to pay reporting time pay in the event the employee is not furnished at least half his usual or scheduled day’s work.   What Is Reporting Time Pay?   Under California law, […]

On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the purpose of raising the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees under federal law.   Background   The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) provides an exemption from federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for employees in bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and […]

In California, employers must provide employees a net thirty-minute meal period—exclusive of preparatory and conclusory activities such as travel time and changing time. The first meal period must commence no later than the end of the fifth hour worked, and where employees work more than 10 hours, a second meal period must commence no later than the end of the […]

SHLC attorneys Evelin Bailey and Justin Vecchiarelli were named Northern California “Rising Stars”.  Ms. Bailey was selected as a Top Rated Employment & Labor Law attorney. Ms. Bailey has been selected to “Rising Stars “since 2014. Mr. Vecchiarelli was selected as a Top Rated Employment Litigation attorney.   This “Rising Stars” honor recognizes attorneys who are 40 years old or […]

Employers often adopt civility policies, including policies that prohibit employees from using threatening or intimidating language, or using abusive or vulgar language towards co-workers or supervisors.  Violations of those policies, warn employers, may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment. The National Labor Relation Board (the Board) recently found that a Nexteer Automotive Corp. employee who shouted profanity at […]

It is imperative that employers understand and comply with the California minimum wage. Additionally, some cities and counties have enacted local laws that are more restrictive than the California minimum wage. Therefore, it is important to comply with local laws to the extent that the local laws are more protective of employees than California and federal laws.   The California […]

Governor Brown signed the Fair Pay Act Bill, also known as AB 2282, on July 18, 2018. The Fair Pay Act Bill clarifies ambiguities in Labor Code Sections 432.3 and 1197.5, which were created with the passing of AB 168 in 2017.   AB 168 AB 168 was intended to eliminate the gap in pay between male and female workers. […]

In recent years, California employers have been hit with class action lawsuits alleging that their employees were not provided with “suitable seating,” even when seating would only be appropriate for some of the tasks employees perform.   Two examples from the past month alone illustrate the trend. On October 24, 2018, a California judge approved a $2.6 million class action […]

On September 30, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a series of bills making significant changes to the state’s workplace sexual harassment laws. The purpose of the newly enacted laws is to expand legal protections to victims of workplace harassment and increase the liability of those who have engaged in such conduct. Together, these new bills make up one of […]