It is not uncommon for employers to implement paid vacation policies in which the employee receives a lump sum of vacation time upon reaching a certain length of service or anniversary date, rather than accruing the vacation over time. For example, the employee receives zero paid vacation time in their vacation bank during their first year of employment, but at their one-year anniversary date, they are suddenly credited with one week of paid vacation. This practice is not compliant and can expose an employer to substantial liability.

Dealers are continually challenged in complying with California’s meal and rest break laws. And although it is commonly known that employers must provide off-duty meal breaks of at least 30 minutes for work shifts of more than 5 hours, many dealers overlook the timing requirements of these breaks.

With the passage of SB-836, a number of important changes in Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) requirements went into effect on July 1, 2016. Though not as expansive as originally proposed, the changes do demonstrate the Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s interest in monitoring PAGA claims and their settlements.

The City of San Diego implemented its new minimum wage and sick leave ordinance effective July 11, 2016. The ordinance was passed through a ballot vote on June 7, 2016, however, the ordinance as drafted at the time of the vote, left some loose ends on how the sick leave requirements would work. Acknowledging that the sick leave provisions needed some additional refining, the City Council asked the City Attorney for guidance on an implementing ordinance that would clarify provisions of the new law. Today, the City released a first version of an implementing ordinance to address these issues and has announced that it will conduct a second reading of the implementing ordinance on July 26, 2016.

The article by Scalilaw attorneys Christian J. Scali, Robert D. Daniels and John P. Swenson, titled What autopilot crash could mean for Tesla, was published in the Perspective section of Wednesday's Daily Journal. In it our attorneys discuss the implications for Tesla of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opening a preliminary investigation into the Autopilot feature in 25,000 Tesla Motors Model S cars.

Stay informed on the latest laws and trends affecting the Automotive Industry. Join us for Coffee Break, a monthly newsletter and video series that provides a quick shot of corporate compliance and ethics topics including dealership human resource topics and wage and hour regulations, advertising and regulatory compliance and other new and trending issues affecting dealership operations. In under two minutes, our attorneys will provide you with perspective and implementation ideas for new and trending compliance issues at your dealership.