Calculation of overtime in California differs from other states in regard to what hours count toward the total hours worked in the week, and that’s just the beginning. Even the best HR professionals can find the topic of paying overtime in California perplexing. Questions arise about what exactly...

Wage/hour violations, like lunch break payments, can seem like small potatoes. But multiply them by 250 workdays a year and 1,000 employees, and add penalties—and you’ve suddenly got a big-ticket fine. Common Violation #1: Meal Breaks Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more)...

By Allen Kato, Fenwick & West LLP Why should you conduct an exemption audit in California? Employee claims alleging they are misclassified as exempt from overtime (brought as individual claims or class-action lawsuits) are the lawsuit of the day. For example, in March 2012, a California court approved...

Yesterday , Garrett Jensen of the Orange County office of Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger LLP spelled out the facts of a recent court case in which an employee claimed he was entitled to reporting time pay on days he had meetings scheduled. Today, the court’s ruling. Click here for the facts...

You schedule your employees for meetings and compensate them accordingly. Case closed, right? But now they come to you and say you should have paid them reporting time pay and/or split-shift premiums for those days. When are those payments triggered? Garrett Jensen of the Orange County office of Carothers...

If you have a nondiscretionary bonus plan that is awarded to nonexempt employees at intervals greater than each week (for example, on a quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis), you are required to retroactively calculate the bonus into the employee's "regular rate" of pay. You’re...

Yesterday , we explained some of the facts of the Brinker case and why the decision is such good news for employers. The bottom line is that employers in California appear to have dodged a food fight of gargantuan proportions! The California Supreme Court’s conclusion that employers must merely...

The extremely long wait is over: We finally have a decision from the California Supreme Court in the case of Brinker Restaurant Group v. Superior Court of San Diego – and some much-needed guidance on the state’s meal and rest break rules. The employers in the case, Brinker Restaurant Corporation...

The California Supreme Court has just released its long-awaited decision in the Brinker case, ruling that employers must relieve employees of all duty during meal periods - but need not ensure that no work is done during that time. For more on the case, check out the California Courts press release on...

When you experience a weather closing, how do you handle pay for your employees? Must you pay everyone? What are the differences between non-exempt and exempt employee pay? Although much of the country has experienced a fairly mild winter compared with years past, the issue of inclement weather doesn’t...

Yesterday , we looked at the rules for final pay in California, including the deadlines by which you must pay employees who are leaving either voluntarily or involuntarily. What happens if you miss those deadlines? ‘Willful’ Failure To Pay An employer that “willfully” fails to...

Good-byes are tough …well, not in the case of that truly dreadful employee you’ve finally managed to fire. But you could still be in for headaches if you botch the strict California final pay rules. Final Pay Rules for Involuntary Terminations For employees who are involuntarily terminated...

The California Supreme Court is expected to release its long-awaited decision in Brinker Restaurant Group v. Superior Court of San Diego on April 12 or 13. Finally: Firm guidance on how to properly handle your meal and rest breaks in California! CEA Online subscribers can join us for a free subscribers...

Yesterday , we looked at a wage/hour lawsuit involving interns who worked on the Oscar-winning film “Black Swan.” Today, the California-specific rules on interns— and an introduction to a can’t-miss event later this year that will get you fully up to speed on all things workplace...

Two former interns recently sued the producer of the Oscar-winning film “Black Swan” for minimum wage and overtime law violations, hitting headlines nationwide. The case is a good illustration of some of the inherent dangers of taking on interns. Although internship programs offer employers...

People think using contingent workers is a down and dirty way to save money, says attorney Nancy M. Cooper, but there are expensive pitfalls that could erase that savings many times over. In today’s CED , Cooper demystifies part-timers and temps. Cooper chairs the labor and employment practice...

There’s a compensation heat wave, says Susan Willmott, SPHR, and the only way to avoid it is with a compensation structure that’s carefully worked out based on job content and value to the company. In yesterday’s CED , we learned about writing job descriptions that provide information...

Despite the fact that a sound job description is the basis for a meaningful compensation plan, all too often job descriptions are the weakest link in the connection between compensation and performance management, says Michele Whitehead, PHR. Not sure about your job descriptions? You can poll your people...

Our parent company, Business & Legal Resources, recently conducted a survey to learn more about our customers’ business travel budgets, and to see whether they had been adjusted in light of current economic conditions. Readers from across the country and well-distributed by size and industry...

Yesterday , we looked at some of the federal tests for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor for wage/hour purposes. What factors does California look at? A Clarification That’s Essentially Meaningless A May 2010 decision by the California Supreme Court clarified...