Seyfarth Synopsis: ‘Tis the season of food temptation: the average American gains at least five pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. California employers need to beware of weight discrimination in the fluctuating legal landscape, and how to handle bias in hiring and the workplace.

A 2008 study from Yale University found that weight discrimination, often referred to as
Continue Reading “Weight Watchers”—Weight Discrimination in the Workplace

By Paul S. Drizner

We’ve long known that California law does not treat Labor Code Section 203 penalties as “wages.” Earlier this year, the IRS published its view on how to treat those penalties (often referred to as “waiting time penalties” or WTPs) for purposes of federal income and employment taxes. A Chief Counsel Advice (“CCA”) memo concludes that WTPs
Continue Reading Wait’s Over: IRS Says Waiting Time Penalties Aren’t Wages

Business Man and Woman Workplace InequalityRepresenting what media observers call the nation’s most aggressive attempt yet to close the salary gap between men and women, SB 358 would substantially broaden California gender pay differential law. Since the bill landed on his desk September 1, all eyes have been on Governor Jerry Brown. Though aide Nancy McFadden tweeted on Women’s Equality Day (August 26) that “@JerryBrownGov
Continue Reading California Gender Pay Equality Bill To Be Strictest In Nation?

HiRes (2)As we trudge through the dog days of summer, temperatures rise, employees daydream about vacation, and, unfortunately, workplace accidents and injuries happen. This is a time to note that some Cal/OSHA District Offices take a very expansive view of injury and illness reporting requirements.  And not all District Offices take the same approach!  Thankfully, we have a team of Cal/OSHA
Continue Reading It’s Summer! Let’s Take a Dip in the Cal/OSHA.

By: Emily Schroeder 

In a recent blog post, we discussed how recent California judicial court decisions may erode the once-solid foundation of traditional incentive pay systems. Specifically, Armenta v. Osmose and Bluford v. Safeway held that while a piece rate compensated employees for their “productive time”—time spent actually working on piece-rate tasks—the piece rate did not compensate them for
Continue Reading Commission Pay Post-Peabody