“It was a pleasure to have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with LAFLA to achieve this successful outcome,” said Christian Scali, founder and managing partner of Scali Rasmussen. “Representing the tenants pro bono is one way our attorneys are able to make a difference in our community.”

Many automotive vendors rely on accessing automotive dealers’ customer data to provide services as varied as lead generation, vehicle tracking, and customer service. Under the CCPA, dealers may be held liable if any vendor misuses customer data or experiences a data breach. Each vendor that uses your customer data therefore has the potential to steeply increase your potential liability, particularly in light of the fact that you cannot directly control the vendor’s data use or data security practices.

Although a year-end Company “holiday” party is a nice opportunity for employers to show their appreciation to employees for their work over the course of the year, these events are a perennial HR headache as the legal risks abound if employers are not careful. Here are some tips for planning such events that apply any time of the year.

This year, Governor Newsom signed several bills into law that affect California employers, many of which take effect on January 1, 2020. Though most of these laws do not explicitly instruct employers to update their handbooks, some may invalidate provisions that are contained in existing employee handbooks, written policies or other documents provided to employees, such as pay plans. Here are a few things to keep in mind...

Automotive News turned to Scali Rasmussen attorney Monica Baumann for this article about the California Consumer Privacy Act. The most aggressive consumer-privacy law in the country, the CCPA goes into effect January 1, 2020.

The California Department of Industrial Relations announced the new minimum salary threshold for exempt computer professionals. Effective January 1, 2020, a computer professional must receive a salary of no less than $96,968.33 per year ($8,081.71 monthly) in order to qualify for the white collar exemption. This increase reflects the 2.5% increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers over the minimum threshold from 2019.

Last month, the Court of Appeal issued a rare employer-friendly ruling regarding the calculation of meal and rest period premiums and regarding time rounding policies. In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, plaintiff – a former bartender for the defendant – alleged that her employer improperly paid employees’ meal and rest period premiums at the base rate of compensation (i.e., the hourly wage), without including an additional amount based on incentive compensation such as nondiscretionary bonuses. Plaintiff reasoned that, because these additional amounts are included for the purpose of calculating overtime premiums, they should also be included for the purpose of calculating meal and rest period premiums, since the language in the statutes governing each of these payments is essentially identical.

The article Suit Targets Fingerprint Scans as Employee Time Trackers is highlighted in the Industry Voices section of WardsAuto. It discusses why businesses should be alert to employee-privacy issues, especially those involving biometric data, in light of the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).