At some point in your working life, you have likely found yourself working long hours in order to complete necessary duties. Though the extra work may have added some additional stress to your day, your position may have allowed you the opportunity to earn some overtime pay. Many individuals find the added compensation useful and a nice perk for their extra efforts. Though some workers may consider overtime pay a form of compensation that applies to everyone, certain stipulations exist as to whether employees may earn overtime pay. As a result, you may want to ensure that your employer has not violated wage and hour laws by keeping such pay from you. Several exemptions exist that may legitimately remove the opportunity for overtime pay. Executive Exemption If you hold an executive position at your place of employment, you may not qualify for overtime compensation. However, simply holding the title of an executive does not immediately…Read More
Employees are granted many rights when they are hired by a company. It may feel as though your employer is this monolithic behemoth that has all of the power in the employment relationship, but this simply isn’t true. They have many rules, laws and regulations that they must follow, and they can’t treat you unfairly just because they are a big player in the industry. Employees are granted protection from discrimination in its many forms; they are free from harassment of any kind; they are protected against retaliatory actions by their employer; and they also have the right to fair pay and wages for the time they have worked. In relation to that last point: sometimes employers will not pay their employees for the time they worked, either by accident or on purpose. Maybe the company is poor at tracking their payroll or keeping financial records. Maybe there was a glitch during payroll processing. Or maybe, they…Read More
It’s no secret that wage gaps exist between genders and races. Closing that gap seems to have stalled since the 1980s. Women earn 79 cents to every dollar earned by men, on average. And for black and Hispanic women it is even lower at 64 and 55 cents. Why do these wage disparities still exist and what can be done about them? Also, if we know they exist, how come there aren’t more class action lawsuits for wage discrimination? The Justification For Wage Disparity Not all wage gaps are a result of discrimination. Some are legitimate, based on seniority, years of experience, education and experience with a competitor. But if those disparities in salary cannot be explained by those factors, they may be violations of equal pay laws – even if they are unintentional. Unfortunately, systemic wage gaps by gender or race often go undetected. Workers in our culture do not talk about their salaries or what…Read More
When considering wage and hour violations, wage deductions for costumes or uniforms don’t immediately come to mind. This type of employment law violation, however, is more common then you’d think. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently resolved a case involving improper paycheck deductions for uniforms and other expenses. A DOL investigation found that two Walt Disney Co. subsidies in Florida violated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions pertaining to minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping. The company now owes $3.8 million in back pay to 16,339 employees of Disney Vacation Club Management Corp. and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. This lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. illustrates how wage and hour laws can protect employees. In this situation, federal law prohibits payroll deductions from causing employees’ salaries to fall below minimum wage. If this had not occurred, the costume/uniform deductions would have fallen within FLSA guidelines. In addition to employee protections under FLSA, there are also…Read More
The laws in California are protective of the rights of employees against discrimination and harassment from employers. This extends to actions taken by employers to punish or deter employees when they make these claims against their employers, act as whistleblowers against employer impropriety, or engage in some other activity that their employer doesn’t like. This is referred to as retaliation, and it is illegal. It is therefore important as an employee in California to be aware of your many legal protections from retaliation. Employee Actions Protected From Punishment California Labor Code 98.6 provides that “A person shall not discharge an employee or in any manner discriminate, retaliate, or take any adverse action against any employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant engaged in any conduct delineated in this chapter”, including an employee: Who exercises “recognized constitutional rights” off hours and away from the worksite. Who runs as a candidate who runs for public office.…Read More
The California Labor Code and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provide broad protections for employees in California. Most of the workforce is California is classified as non-exempt. Most of the overtime and wage protections provided by the Labor Code and FLSA directly address non-exempt employees. However, there is also a classification of “exempt” employees, to whom a different set of rules may apply. The classification of an employee as exempt versus non-exempt is incredibly important, and employers are often caught improperly classifying employees as exempt. Non-Exempt Employees Non-exempt employees enjoy broad state and federal protections, including: (1) the highest minimum wage dictated by the federal, state, or local government; (2) 8 hour workdays and 40 hour work weeks; (3) overtime when they work past 8 hours in a day; and (4) mandatory breaks. Unfortunately, the “exempt” in exempt employee means they are not guaranteed these same protections. Exempt Employees Employers that classify employees…Read More
According to current overtime laws, agricultural workers receive overtime pay if they work more than 10 hours in a day and more than 6 days per work week. This is a different standard than the overtime laws that most California employers must comply with of more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a work week. California lawmakers recently passed a bill that will close in the gap for eligible overtime hours for farm employees. Beginning in July 2019, overtime pay will begin a half hour sooner each year, starting with 9 1/2 hours per day and 55 per work week, until it reaches 8 hours per day and 40 hours a work week in 2022. Smaller farms of 25 or fewer workers have until 2025 to comply with the new regulations. The bill was introduced by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego). It passed in the state senate by 21-14 and was…Read More
Substance abuse is an incredibly sensitive topic because alcohol addiction and drug addiction are diseases that many people struggle to overcome. Addiction is dangerous, deadly, painful, embarrassing, and hurts loved ones. For this reason, many people go to great lengths to keep this struggle private. When it comes to employment laws, drug testing really tests the balance of a person’s right to privacy versus an employer’s right to employ people who can fulfill their job duties. U.S. Constitution And Californians’ Right To Privacy The United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment, states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Further, the California Constitution states that: “All people are by…Read More
We all know that a work week in America is forty hours, that there is a minimum wage that an employer can pay you, and that children are not allowed to do hard labor. This hasn’t always been the case. Established in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was landmark legislation enacted in response to unregulated and oppressive working hours imposed by businesses on adult and child employees. The impact of the FLSA on American work life cannot be overstated. It provided sweeping reforms as to how the American working class are treated and paid. Characteristics And Provisions Of The FLSA A basic understanding of the FLSA is important for everyone in the workforce, because it has shaped the way employees are protected from their employers. The FLSA applies broadly to employers in the private sector, as well as federal, state, and local government employment. Significantly, the FLSA: Established a federal minimum wage. It…Read More
You work hard for your bonus. You keep track of every performance measure that your employer sets for you and you do your best to hit those marks. You do so relying on that promised bonus. So what happens if you are not paid your bonus, or it doesn’t come when it is supposed to? Do you simply throw up your hands because it was “extra” money? To answer that question, it is important to understand how California labor laws treat bonuses. Types Of Bonuses California law views bonuses in two categories, “discretionary” and “non-discretionary” bonuses. These are also referred to as “unearned” and “earned” bonuses. Discretionary bonuses are “sums paid as gifts at a holiday or other special occasions, such as a reward for good service, which are not measured by or dependent upon hours worked, production or efficiency, are not included for purposes of determining the regular rate of pay.” An example is…Read More
