The California Court of Appeal’s decision in Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc. is a warning that employees must be provided reporting time pay when an employer requires its employees to call in two hours before a potential shift to learn whether the employee is needed for work and the employee is told not to come into work that day. To be clear, “reporting to work” is not limited to the when the employee physically appears at work but is sent home early.

New publications were released in March of 2019 pertaining to employers’ obligations to notify employees of their rights related to family medical, parental, disability and pregnancy leaves. Specifically, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) released two new brochures pertaining to disability leave benefits and family care/medical leave benefits that provide updated information on the amount and calculation of paid benefits, and other clarifications. In addition, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) issued a new notice on family care and medical leave, and pregnancy disability leave. While the previous version of this DFEH notice applied only to employers with 50 or more employees, this new notice also applies to employers with 20-49 employees who are now covered under the recently-enacted New Parent Leave Act.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys in California have long been scrutinizing their clients’ paystubs, looking for any excuse to file a claim against defendant employers for wage statement violations. Considering the Labor Code’s requirement that wage statements contain the “name and address of the legal entity that is the employer,” (Lab. Code § 226(a)) some plaintiffs have argued that paystubs reflecting only a company’s fictitious business name (“FBN”) violate the Labor Code. In one recent case, the plaintiff argued that the employer, YRC, Inc., erred in listing its fictitious business name, YRC Freight, on plaintiff’s paystubs. Under an additional theory of liability, the plaintiff alleged that the employer violated the Labor Code by failing to include the employer’s Zip+4 Code (the unnecessary last four numbers sometimes added to zip codes).

California employers and dealerships are regularly getting hit with class action wage and hour claims, or lawsuits under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which presently allows a single employee to bring claims for all others who suffered any violation of numerous labor statutes. One common issue in these cases is meal breaks. Employers should be aware of potential meal break pitfalls. This article will help you avoid them.

We explore some of the legal and deal considerations that buyers and sellers face in dealing with various types of acquisition financing in this article, originally published in Automotive Buy Sell Report.

In 2015, California automobile dealers applauded the holding of the Court of Appeal in Benson v. Southern California Auto Sales, Inc. (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 1198, concluding attorneys fees and costs are not available to a plaintiff when a dealer made an appropriate and timely correction offer in response to a Consumer Legal Remedies Act demand. Since then, the Courts have been distinguishing the facts of Benson to chip away at its dealer-friendly applications.

Employers are required to provide sexual harassment training under the FEHA as part of their obligation to ensure a workplace free of sexual harassment.

In this December 12, 2018, ruling the Court of Appeal again reminded those involved in the sale of automobiles to consumers of the expense of litigation.

This is a case to watch because a decision in favor of the out-of-state retailers could embolden others who might seek to challenge other state law based occupational licensing requirements.

Touted as strengthening the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is backing two new bills that would impose additional requirements on California businesses while also eliminating their right to cure problems or seek guidance from the Attorney General’s office regarding compliance with the CCPA.