On May 7, 2015, the California Court of Appeal held in Hirst v. City of Oceanside that an employee of an independent contractor has standing to bring an action for sexual harassment under the Fair Employment & Housing Act (“FEHA”) against the company at which he or she is placed.  This expansion of FEHA has potentially significant implications on California […]

California Supreme Court to Provide Guidance on “Day of Rest” Rules Flying under the radar of many California employers are Labor Code sections 551 and 552, which state: “[e]very person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest therefrom in seven” (Labor Code § 551) and, “[n]o employer of labor shall cause his employees to work […]

On September 17, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill Number 1660 (“AB 1660”).  In connection with AB 1660, Assembly Bill Number 60 (“AB 60”) became effective January 01, 2015.  Both of these laws were enacted by the State of California and relate to discrimination of an employee or individual on the basis of immigration status by an employer […]

On March 18, 2015, Richard F. Griffin, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), issued a Memorandum providing guidance on handbook rules that the NLRB considers to be unlawful. The Memorandum focuses on employee rules that may violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by prohibiting protected activity. Section 7 of the NLRA gives employees […]

The Supreme Court of California recently held that “sleep time” during a 24-hour shift is compensable to the extent the employee is under the employer’s control. In Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, security guards covered by Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order No. 4 claimed they were entitled to compensation for all on-call hours spent at their assigned worksites, including […]

S.B. 1087 Focuses on Sexual Harassment Prevention A new California law makes big changes for Farm Labor Contractors (“FLCs”) aimed at preventing sexual harassment. The changes affect FLC licensing requirements and employee training. California Labor Commissioner Julie Su sent a letter to all California FLCs in December summarizing the changes made by the new law. (The letter can be found […]

Notice to Employees: The Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011 established several new employee protections. The Act created Labor Code section 2810.5 which requires most employers to provide written notice to employees of their rate(s) of pay, any allowances, the regular payday, and the name and contact information of the employer and the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. According to […]

NLRB Holds Workers Have Statutory Right to Use Employer’s E-Mail System to Organize Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held that workers have a statutory right to use their work e-mail to communicate about union organization, wages, working conditions, and other concerted activities during non-working time. The new ruling, Purple Communications, Inc. (361 NLRB No. 126), overturns the […]

Federal Law Does Not Require Payment for “Postliminary” Activities Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court recently determined the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) does not require employers to pay workers for time spent going through security screenings as they leave work. Plaintiffs alleged that they were required to go through the security checks each day after they […]

Children’s Hospital Case: A Fresno County jury recently awarded $1,035,050 to a former employee of Children’s Hospital who was fired after failing a post-accident drug test. The Plaintiff was a Children’s Hospital employee of 18 ½ years who worked as a security guard. He was awarded almost $400,000 in economic loss and $650,000 for emotional distress. Immediately after an on-the-job […]