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Employment Law

With DLSE enforcement up, get your pay practices in order

06/27/2013
California Labor Commissioner Julie Su has issued a report summarizing the enforcement activity of the Division of Labor Standards Enforce­­ment in 2011 and 2012. Its conclusion: The DLSE has significantly increased the number and scope of its enforcement actions during the first two years of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.
Our conclusion: Now more than ever, employers should ensure that their pay practices comply with Cali­­for­­nia law.

Lab must pay $2.73 million to wrongly fired workers

06/27/2013
A San Francisco jury has awarded $2,729,037 to five former employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who alleged wrongful termination and breach of their employment contracts.

Adult care facilities cited for wage theft violations

06/27/2013
Three Bay Area adult care facilities face nearly $600,000 in fines for not paying overtime or the minimum wage and failing to provide meal breaks.

Court: Unions entitled to info about nonunion employees

06/27/2013
In a significant win for organized labor, the Supreme Court of California has ruled that a union is entitled to the home addresses and telephone numbers of employees who aren’t union members.

When terminating or laying off employees, be sure to pay out accrued leave

06/27/2013
California wage-and-hour law requires employers that provide vacation benefits to pay out unused vacation immediately upon termination. However, there’s an exception for union workplaces if the employer and union clearly and unmistakably agree to waive that payment.

If it’s carefully crafted, you can make an arbitration agreement stick

06/27/2013
Good news for employers that want to settle employment-related disputes through arbitration instead of risking a jury trial. The Court of Appeal of California has upheld an arbitration agreement that was presented to all employees when they were hired.

Keep all lawsuit settlements confidential!

06/27/2013
Here’s an important warning for employers that end discrimination or harassment lawsuits with settlement agreements that include a confidentiality clause: Keep those terms confidential and accessible only to those who absolutely need to know. Otherwise, you could wind up facing a retaliation lawsuit if word of the settlement leaks out …

Temp nursing firm settles wage claims for $1.77 million

06/27/2013
U.S. Nursing Corp., a temp agency that provides replacement nurses to hospitals when staff go on strike, has agreed to pay $1.77 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by California employees.

Pay regular salary to preserve exempt status

06/27/2013
Adhere to standard payroll practices if you want to avoid paying unnecessary overtime for otherwise exempt employees. One of those standards is to pay a set salary regardless of the quantity or quality of work performed in a particular week.

Poor review alone isn’t grounds for lawsuit

06/27/2013
Good news for bosses who get nervous when required to give poor performance evaluations: A negative performance review alone isn’t grounds for a lawsuit. It’s only if the review becomes the basis for discharge, demotion or a denied promotion that employees can take the matter to court.