Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Department of Labor (DOL) released its final overtime rule on Tuesday, September 24, 2019, increasing the minimum salary level for exempt status to $35,568 per year for a full-time employee under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) effective January 1, 2020. But California employers must meet higher minimum salary requirements and other nuances
Continue Reading Overtime! DOL Final Rule Adds More Eligible Receivers

Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Jerry Brown has till October 15 to approve bills the Legislature sent to his desk by its Friday, September 15, deadline, including bills that would require employers to ”show us the money” for certain employees and to make “mum be the word” for an applicant’s past conviction history.

The 2017 California Legislative Session kicked off on January
Continue Reading 2017 Labor & Employment Legislative Update: The End is Near!

By Aaron Lubeley and Candace Bertoldi

With the holiday season in full swing, there’s a lot of buzz (and confusion) around holiday work and pay requirements in California.  Employers often like to be more generous this time of year but many simply are misinformed as to what they must do. Here are seven tips about holiday pay that every employer
Continue Reading It’s Not All Egg Nog and Candy Canes: Filling Employers’ Stockings with Seven Things They Need To Know About Holiday Pay

By Maya Harel and Colleen M. Regan

As previously reported here one of the pieces of 2013 California legislation that made a big splash is Assembly Bill 10 (AB 10).  AB 10 amends Labor Code § 1182.12 and raises California’s minimum wage in two steps over 18 months, from $8.00 to $9.00 per hour (on July 1, 2014) and then
Continue Reading Increasing the CA Minimum Wage Makes A Big Splash, But What Are The Ripple Effects?

Co Authored by Jon Meer, Jonathan L. Brophy, and Brandon McKelvey 

The administrative exemption has been a hot area of litigation for a long time in California with all sorts of twists and turns in the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal over the last several years.  Unfortunately, the courts are still struggling with this exemption and have failed to provide clear guidance or clarity in this area.  As a result, plaintiffs’ lawyers continue to target the administrative exemption in individual wage hour actions as well as class actions.

So you have to ask yourself this:  Are you confident that you would be able to withstand an attack as to the exempt status of your employees who are classified as administratively exempt?

Even employers who carefully designate job classifications as exempt are subject to attack.  Employees may claim that, upon closer inspection, their work doesn’t meet the test for the exemption and that they are owed overtime and penalties for missed meal and rest breaks – a costly battle for employers to fight.

Employers, however, can implement some basic safeguards that will help proactively protect their exempt classifications in the event of a lawsuit.  Here are a few suggested steps that employers can put in place now that may help prevent a lawsuit or provide a solid defense in the event of a lawsuit:

1.     Require Self-Evaluations:  During your company’s review process, solicit employees’ self-evaluations in categories related to the exemption test.  Employers should consider including the following types of categories for employee self-evaluations:


Continue Reading Protecting The Administrative Exemption – Are You Ready For A Lawsuit?