Enforced by the Department of Labor (DOL), the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is also known as the FLSA for short, helps regulate the employer-employee relationship in all of the United States of America. Interestingly, although states like California may have their...
Employee Rights
Size of delivery vehicle influences ruling on overtime pay
Delivery drivers in California wondering how the Fair Labor Standards Act could apply to their wages have new guidance from an appeals court decision. The terms of the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 persuaded the three-judge panel of a federal appeals...
$6.3 million lawsuit filed over worker misclassification
The California Labor Commissioner's Office filed a lawsuit in August against a construction company after it was alleged that 175 workers were willfully misclassified and for other wage violations. Allegations include the failure to pay overtime, the failure to...
Trump DOL changes for contractors and joint employment
Employers in California and across the United States should be aware of changes that took place in June 2017 regarding the regulation of independent contractors and joint employment. The new Department of Labor under President Trump has rejected the Administrator's...
Retaliation against FLSA complaints increases employer liability
Employers in California might worsen their position in some legal cases regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act if plaintiffs can prove that retaliation took place. FLSA complaints from employees generally involve failures to pay minimum wage or overtime. Negative...
Timekeeping software allows employers to edit time sheets
Many California employers use timekeeping software to track their employees' hours. While timekeeping software may simplify record keeping for employers, flaws in the software could lead to wage and hour law violations. A new study appearing in the Yale Journal of Law...
Wells Fargo ERISA complaint filed in federal court
California residents may already know that Wells Fargo and some of its high-ranking executives now have a third lawsuit against them as a result of unethical practices tied to the bank's consumer and retails divisions. The lawsuit alleges the defendants were aware...
The growing practice of litigation financing
Some California employees who are pursuing a lawsuit against their employer may have another option besides finding an attorney to work on a contingency basis. Litigation financing is the practice of funding a lawsuit. In exchange, the investor gets a portion of the...
Online postings by employees may be protected speech
Many California residents visit online review portals like Yelp or Angie's List before choosing a restaurant or hiring a plumber, and the information age has given ordinary people the ability to make their feelings known to a vast audience. Online ratings and reviews...
The limits of employer rights in California
In the event that an employee says something bad about an employer's product, it would seem logical that the employer could take action. However, the type of action and when that action could be taken has been limited by several court decisions. In a March 2016 case,...
