New Wage & Hour Cases of Interest
8 Significant Employment-Related Bills Signed by Governor Brown in 2013
As of today, the Governor has signed 8 significant employment-related bills into law, covering: Minimum wage increase, from $8 to $10/hour, over two years Change in definition of sexual harassment to provide broader protection for employees Recovery of defense attorney’s fees in wage claims only if bad faith Expansion of coverage of Paid Family Leave Mandatory…
Read MoreEmployees with Legitimate Claims for Overtime Should Not Crumble Under Employer Threats
California has fee-shifting provision in place for claimants seeking unpaid minimum wages and unpaid overtime pay, by which the prevailing employee is entitled to attorney’s fees. Many employer defendants have sought to scare away a former employee plaintiff by “reminding” them that if the employee loses, the employer will go after them for their fees…
Read MoreWet Seal agrees to pay 7.5 million to settle gender discrimination class action lawsuit
Wet Seal, a California based retailer, has settled a national class action suit that was filed in federal district court. The employment discrimination case was based on the company’s alleged Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 violation. The act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on sex, race, national origin, color…
Read MoreGordon Ramsey’s Own Nightmare-A Class Action Lawsuit Against Fat Cow in LA
Jennifer Becerra, Montinique Dever, Andrea Bourke and Lauren Benge have filed a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all other hourly, non-exempt current and former employees (“Class Members”), alleging that while working for the famed chef, he and his restaurant: “(1) required Class Members to work through their meal and rest periods without paying compensation…
Read MoreIs Tip Pooling or Tip Sharing Legal?
Tip pools and tip sharing are significant topics for employees in both the food service and hospitality industry. The Second Circuit’s Court of Appeals will soon clarify the the prohibition against participation by an employer’s “agents” in tip pools and sharing arrangements. The court’s certification order arose out of two class actions against Starbucks involving their “baristas.” In Barenboim v. Starbucks Corp.,…
Read MoreClass Action Arbitration of California Wage and Hour Claims
Judicial interpretation of the enforceability of arbitration clauses in the context of class action claims for wage and hour violations, such as the failure to pay overtime, missed meal and rest breaks and misclassification as an independent contractor or exempt, continues to evolve. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in AT&T Mobility…
Read MoreCalifornia Employee Rights Lawsuits Address Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
While no attorney or law firm can guarantee that your case will be successful or that these results will be seen in your case, results in three key lawsuits in California reveal that employee rights claims remain a viable means to address discrimination, harassment and retaliation at work: Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch recently agreed to …
Read MoreEmployee Meal and Rest Break Class Action Against Brinker International
(From Reuters) Part of a class-action lawsuit against Brinker International Inc can proceed, the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, in a closely watched case about employee meal and rest breaks at the company’s restaurants. The California high court authorized a class of workers in the state to proceed with claims that they were denied…
Read MoreNew Bill Could Eliminate OT for IT Employees
Congressional member, Senator Hagan, recently introduced a bill that would greatly expand the exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act for IT employees, eliminating overtime benefits for many employees, including network, database and security specialists. Currently, California law and the FLSA mandates that employees get time-and-a-half (1.5x) overtime pay for working more than 40 hours…
Read MoreJunior Professionals Owed Overtime Compensation?
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Campbell v. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is significant. In that case, a group of 2,000 unlicensed junior accountants, sued their employer under California law for alleged unpaid overtime wages. During the litigation, Plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to establish that as a matter of law, the junior accountants…
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