Waiting Time Penalties (to Appeal or Not to Appeal)
“I quit.” These words from an employee leads to a string of questions from an employer. What do I need to pay the employee? How quickly do I have to do it? Can I wait until the next batch of payroll checks are processed? Do I have to cut the employee a separate check? What happens if I do it wrong? These are all legitimate questions because the laws in California are very specific about what an employer must do and the penalties for failing to do it correctly in the eyes of the law. A recent appellate opinion (Nishiki v. Danko Meredith, APC) is a great example of how a small inconsistency in the final paycheck that ultimately meant the employee is owed only $2,250 in penalties, resulted in the employer having to pay over $86,000 to the former employee in attorney’s fees. That’s 3,822% of the penalty itself. The inconsistent final pay check What happened in Nishiki could have happened to any one of us. In this case, plaintiff, who worked as a paralegal at the defendant law … Continue reading
Off-the-Clock Work Must be Paid
Last week, the California Supreme Court, in a case called Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, confirmed that California wage and hour law “does care for small things.” In this case, it cares about small increments of time spent on work off-the-clock by hourly employees. Small increments in this case is about 4 to 10 minutes after clocking out. De Minimis Doctrine This is a departure from federal law’s more employer-friendly version of the de minimis doctrine. The de minimis doctrine is an established defense under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which allows employers to disregard time as de minimis (and therefore not have to pay employees for that time) if the employer could prove: (1) it would be difficult and impractical for the employer to record the additional time; (2) the total amount of compensable time is minimal; and (3) the additional work is irregular. For example, pre-shift or post-shift meetings. Starbucks Hourly Employee Worked 4 to 10 Minutes Off-the-Clock Each Shift In the Troester v. Starbucks case, Douglas Troester worked for Starbucks as an hourly shift supervisor. As part of … Continue reading
Three Ways to Transfer the Family Business
I’ve had clients who have had to deal with business succession issues and so I invite John L. Wong to provide some insight into what business succession planning is and why business owners should think about it. As an Orange County Estate Planning Attorney, many of my clients own some form of small business. One of the first questions I ask is: “What’s going to happen to your business when you retire or pass away?” There are two very common responses: I’m going to transfer the business to my children; or I’m going to sell the business. I could certainly go through a bunch of hypotheticals to poke holes in these two responses, but often times, if the question was phrased differently, the issue becomes much clearer. “What would happen to your business if you died today?” After some reflection, common responses are: The business would fail; The business would be taken over by an employee. So how do ensure your business is transferred under the first set of scenarios instead of the second set? How do you ensure … Continue reading
New Independent Contractor Test Could be Game Changer
The California Supreme Court recently published an opinion that describes a new independent contractor test that is broader than the current independent contractor test. The “Borello” multi-factor test has been applied for decades, and this new test makes it harder for businesses to properly classify a worker as an independent contractor. This opinion will affect many businesses that hire independent contractors within the State of California. The main take away from this opinion, Dynamex Operations W. v. Super. Ct., Cal. is this: There is a new independent contractor test for purposes of the obligations imposed by a wage order. Here is a breakdown to help understand the preceding statement: What are wage orders? In California, employment laws are spelled out in different places, including statutes, case law, and wage orders. This case specifically addresses the obligations that are imposed on employers by the wage orders that apply to different industries. These wage orders address issues such as the payment of wages (minimum wage), regulating meal and rest breaks, and the number of hours worked (overtime pay), for example. Since these wage … Continue reading
Tip Pools – Law Changes (Again)
Two years ago, the Ninth Circuit held that employers may not share tips from tip pools to back of the house staff who aren’t in the “chain of service.” Last month, this rule was revised by federal law. This means that California employers in the restaurant, hotel, and other service industries where tips are common place, may now distribute tips to those who were previously excluded, such as cooks and dishwashers. This is a welcome change that many of my clients who own restaurants and hotels believe is the fairer rule. Below is a recap on what this means for California employers: Tip pooling policies may now provide that back of the house employees can share in tip pools. This means that tip pooling policies may now require tip pools to be distributed not only to bussers but also to cooks and dishwashers, for example. This practice was prohibited in the last 2 years. Certain employees are still prohibited from being paid from tip pools. Owners, managers, or supervisors of the business may not share in tip pools. Employers should … Continue reading
Defamation Lawsuit and Online Reviews
Your business may have an entry at online platforms such as Yelp and Glassdoor (or Avvo for attorneys). You may have even used it to write reviews, both positive and negative, yourself. These online review sites generally provide useful information while some posts are obviously angry rants by someone who has a bone to pick, a personal vendetta, or posted by a business competitor in some instances. The veil of anonymity on the internet allows many people to say things they would never say in public or if their names and faces were attached the statement. Thus, it is not uncommon for people to make blatantly false statements online that often times spells financial or reputational ruin to the recipient. One legal remedy that businesses and individuals may have to combat these false statements is to bring a defamation lawsuit against the person who made the false statements. However, it bears noting that not all false statements are defamatory and California law has specific requirements in order for someone to win a defamation lawsuit. What is defamation? If you’ve ever … Continue reading
Overtime Pay and Flat Rate Bonuses
Unpaid overtime is one of the most common wage and hour claims against employers and proper calculation of overtime pay can be extremely confusing. Employers often want to incentivize employees with bonuses, but unwittingly create increased exposure for failure to correctly pay overtime. An example of how incentivizing employees could blow up in an employer’s face is the recent Supreme Court decision in Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation of California. Defendant Dart Container is a manufacturer of food service products. Plaintiff Hector Alvarado was employed as a warehouse associate who was paid on an hourly basis and who, in addition to his normal hourly wages, received an “attendance bonus” of $15 per day that he was scheduled to, and did work, on a weekend day. He received the $15 flat rate bonus regardless of whether he merely completed the shift or exceeded the shift and worked overtime hours. The gist of the dispute was this: How to calculate the regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating the overtime pay rate (generally, 1.5 times the regular rate of pay)? The … Continue reading
Severance Pay – 3 Things to Know
I’ve been on both sides of the negotiation table when it comes to severance pay. I have drafted and negotiated them on behalf of companies as well as reviewed and negotiated them on behalf of departing employees. This experience allowed me to understand the value of providing an employee with severance pay from both perspectives. Below are the top 3 things you should understand about severance pay. This information is applicable to both an employer who may want to offer severance pay to an employee at termination as well as an employee who was offered severance pay along with a multi-page agreement to sign, The law does not require payment of severance unless there is a contractual obligation. At the time of employment, employers sometimes promise to give an executive level or other key employee severance pay should the employment relationship end, usually without cause, and under certain circumstances. These circumstances may be the business’s closing or change in ownership, reductions in force, etc. The promise of severance pay is usually offered as an extra incentive to entice top talent. … Continue reading
New Law 2018 –Immigration Enforcement
Immigration was a hot topic this year and starting January 1, 2018, employers will see increased obligations as they relate to employees’ immigration status. Earlier this month, Governor Brown signed AB 450 into law. Beginning January 1, 2018, employers will have the following obligations as they relate to immigration enforcement agents and the workplace: 1. No access without a warrant: Employers, and others acting on their behalf, may not voluntarily consent to immigration enforcement agents entering nonpublic areas of a place of labor without a warrant. For example, if you own a restaurant, immigration enforcement agents are free to enter the dining room but may not enter the kitchen or back office without a warrant permitting them to do so. Penalties for violating this requirement are $2,000 to $5,000 for the first violating incident and $5,000 to $10,000 for each subsequent violation. 2. No inspection of records without warrant or subpoena: Employers, and others acting on their behalf, may not voluntarily provide immigration enforcement agents the ability to access, review, or obtain the employer’s employee records without a subpoena or … Continue reading
Emoji and Deciphering Intent in the Digital Age
[Originally published as Emoji and Deciphering Intent in the Digitial Age, by Tanya Kiatkulpiboone and Andrea W. Paris, in Orange County Lawyer Magazine, June 2017, Vol. 59 No.6 on page 42.] An emoji known as “Face with Tears of Joy” was named the Oxford Dictionaries’ 2015 Word of the Year. See Figure 1. Caspar Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries, explained that “Emoji are becoming an increasingly rich form of communication, one that transcends linguistic borders[.]” Katie Steinmetz, Oxford’s 2015 Word of the Year Is This Emoji, Time (Nov. 16, 2015, 2:08 PM), http://time.com/4114886/oxford-word-of-the-year-2015-emoji/. Nevertheless, Oxford Dictionaries have yet to add any emoji to the dictionary, not even their Word of the Year, thereby acknowledging their expressive abilities without defining them. What Are Emoji? Emoji are small images or icons used to express emotion, ideas, or things in electronic communications. They were created in Japan in the 1990s by Shigetaka Kurita, who worked for one of Japan’s largest mobile phone operators. The name originates from the Japanese terms for picture (“e”) and written character (“moji”). Frequently Asked Questions: Emoji and Pictographs, … Continue reading