SUTTON | HAGUE

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) has amended many of its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment regulations effective April 1, 2016. To begin, the regulations expand the definition of employer by including out-of-state employees in the five employee threshold that triggers application of the regulations. For example, a Nevada company with a small satellite office of three employees in […]

At long last, the California Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying the state’s “suitable seating” requirement. California has long required employees be provided suitable seats “when the nature of the work reasonably permits” their use. However, employers and plaintiff-employees disagreed on how to interpret this standard. An absence of authority on the subject prompted the federal Ninth Circuit Court of […]

In a recent decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Director of Human Resources of an organization may be held individually liable for Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) violations. In reaching its decision, the court examined the definition of “employer” under the FMLA and determined that the Director of Human Resources exercised sufficient control to meet […]

Unconscionable Provisions Can Make an Agreement Unenforceable The California Court of Appeal recently found an arbitration agreement unenforceable due to multiple unfair provisions in the agreement. The February 26, 2016 decision in Carbajal v. CWPSC, Inc. (2016) — Cal.Rptr.3d —- (2016 WL 757552) is a reminder that the substance of an arbitration agreement will be scrutinized by the courts and […]

The Clark County Bar Association journal Communiqué recently published an article by Brett Sutton and Jared Hague in its March 2016 Labor & Employment issue. The article discusses the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Interpretation on joint employment the expansive view taken by the Agency to find joint employment relationships under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The article can be […]

On Tuesday, February 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its ruling in the consolidated appeal of Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association v. Perez and Cesarz v. Wynn Las Vegas LLC. The court adopted a 2011 Department of Labor regulation establishing that, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), employees who do not customarily and regularly […]

The National Restaurant Association has retained Sutton Hague Law Corporation to submit a brief to the Nevada Supreme Court on its behalf in the case commonly known as Nevada Labor Commissioner v. Hancock, a case which will determine key issues arising from Nevada’s two-tier minimum wage Constitutional provision. (See SHLC Blog Post: https://suttonhague.com/shlc-to-submiturant-industry/) In the court filing submitted by SHLC on February […]

By now California employers are aware of AB 1513, codified as California Labor Code section 226.2 as of January 1, 2016. AB 1513 generally requires employers to pay “piece-rate” employees a separate hourly wage for rest and recovery periods and “other nonproductive time.” (See SHLC Blog post on AB 1513: https://suttonhague.com/governor-signs-piece-rate-compensation-bill-into-law/ )This new law is partially in response to several […]

Revisions to the California Labor Code section 233 (“Kin Care”) took effect on January 1, 2016. These revisions eliminate inconsistencies between Kin Care and California’s new Paid Sick Leave (“PSL”) law, which went into full effect on July 1, 2015. When Kin Care Applies, Sick Leave and Paid Time Off and Vacation… Oh My! Kin Care, as revised, applies to […]

On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor—Wage and Hour Division released an Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The AI provides guidance on situations where employers are jointly liable for compliance under the FLSA and MSPA for jointly employing an employee. […]