The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE” or “Labor Commissioner”) Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual (“Enforcement Manual”) summarizes the policies and interpretations which DLSE has followed and continues to follow. The Enforcement Manual was first released in 2002 and updated periodically. The DLSE revised sections of the Enforcement Manual in August 2019. To access the Enforcement Manual online, click here. […]

On October 13, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 51—a bill which essentially makes it unlawful for a California employer to require job applicants or employees to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. Currently, the use of mandatory arbitration agreements and class action waivers is extremely common among California employers, and recent U.S. […]

On August 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled that an arbitration agreement signed by a mechanic at an Oakland Toyota dealership was unenforceable under the general contract principle of unconscionability. The decision came after plaintiff Ken Kho had prevailed on a claim for unpaid wages through a California Labor Commissioner complaint process commonly known as a “Berman” hearing. OTO, […]

In May 2018, the California Court of Appeal held in Huff v. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., that an employee who has been affected by at least one Labor Code violation may pursue penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) for every Labor Code violation committed by that employer, including violations that have not personally affected the […]