Labor & Employment Law Blog

On January 1, 2024, California’s statewide minimum wage rate increased to $16 per hour. Alongside this hike to the minimum wage, the base salary requirement for California employees exempt under the administrative, professional, and executive exemptions increased to an annualized salary of $66,560.

The local minimum wage will increase on July 1, 2024 in the following locations in California:

Is a staffing employer required to immediately pay final earned wages to a temporary employee whose assignment ends as a result of their being terminated by a client employer but where the temporary employee remains an employee of the staffing agency?  No, held a California Court of Appeal in the recent case of Young v. REMX Specialty Staffing No. A165081, 2023 WL 3331378, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. May 10, 2023).

On September 12, 2022, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, held that employees are entitled to recover attorney’s fees and costs stemming from a claim for failure to provide uninterrupted rest periods. Betancourt v. OS Restaurant Services, LLC, Case No. B293625 (Cal. Ct. App 2022). In her complaint, plaintiff Raquel Betancourt also alleged that she was retaliated against and wrongfully terminated for reporting these repeated rest break and food safety violations.

The California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”), the agency that oversees the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE” or “the Labor Commissioner”), workers’ compensation, and Cal-OSHA (among other things), released guidelines confirming its interpretation of California wage and hour laws potentially applicable to the workplace in light of the spread of COVID-19.

Natural disasters are something that many don’t think about until it’s too late, particularly in the context of their business obligations, but as extreme winds, wildfires, and power outages continue to pick up in California, employers should consider what obligations exist as to their employees and employment law.

Can an employee sue his employer for unpaid wages by claiming that his employer and its principals “converted” his personal property to their own use, and that the principals are individually liable for the employer’s conduct? No, held the California Supreme Court in the recent case of Voris v. Lampert, (Cal S Court Case No. S241812), issued on August 15, 2019. 

California’s Fourth Appellate District, Division One, recently upheld a trial court judgment in favor of Certified Tire and Service Centers (“Certified Tire”), finding the company’s compensation system for its tire technicians complied with California’s wage and hour laws.