Seyfarth Synopsis: Some California employers offer floating holidays for employees to use for events like the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. Floating holidays, while offering additional unrestricted days off that promote employee satisfaction and work-life balance, can also bring a sinking feeling to employers who learn, too late, of their possible ballast.
Many California businesses provide 11 paid holidays to
Continue Reading Rules to Avoid Bursting Your Floating Holiday Bubble
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 13, 2017, San Jose’s new “Opportunity to Work Ordinance” takes effect, requiring covered employers to offer additional hours to part-time employees before hiring new or temporary employees. As the law’s effective date looms, the City has issued guidance clarifying portions of the ordinance and has released the notice form that employers must post.
An earlier
Continue Reading Here’s an Update: Opportunity (to Work) Knocks in San Jose
Seyfarth Synopsis: 2016 brought a wave of new protections for California employees and scant protection for employers. In this week’s post, we anticipate changes for 2017, in the ever-peculiar world of California employment law.
True to our tradition, we pause at the beginning of the New Year to reflect on last year’s California employment law changes, and consider possible trends.
Continue Reading Charting the Future: What’s Coming in 2017 in California Employment Law?
Seyfarth Synopsis: In what many employers will see as a “break” from workplace reality, the Supreme Court, in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., announced that certain “on call” rest periods do not comply with the California Labor Code and Wage Orders. The decision presents significant practical challenges for employers in industries where employees must respond to exigent
Continue Reading No Break for California Employers This Holiday Season
Seyfarth Synopsis: Travel time pay is a nebulous area of the law that can leave many employers stalled on the starting blocks. Here are some guidelines to help ensure that employees get paid for all hours worked, including any compensable travel time.
Ready. Set. Not so fast.
It makes common sense to most people that commute time—the time an employee
Continue Reading The Fast, the Furious, the Fundamentals: Travel Pay in California
(with apologies to the song artist)
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit has suggested it might upset longstanding “on call” practices by making California employers liable for “reporting time” pay to employees who phone in ahead of their schedule, only to find that they are not needed for the day.
On October 5, 2016, a Ninth Circuit panel indicated
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Poised to Say “Call Me, Maybe”
Seyfarth Synopsis: Does carrying a pager nullify a rest break? What about the possibility of being tapped on the shoulder by your boss? Or being called on your cell phone? The California Supreme Court considered these and other scenarios during an hour-long oral argument on September 29, as it asked, What does it mean to not “work” during a rest
Continue Reading The $90 Million Question: Can You Rest While On Call?
Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s rules on rest breaks are still developing. Recent cases have addressed the timing of rest breaks, and whether employees (particularly those who remain “on call”) must be relieved of all duty during breaks.
Our fair state has long imposed peculiar—and specific—requirements for employee work breaks. Varying interpretations of the rules for meal and rest breaks have spawned
Continue Reading No Rest for the Weary: California Law on Rest Breaks
Seyfarth Synopsis: Santa Monica has amended its Minimum Wage Ordinance to postpone implementation of its paid sick leave entitlements, now starting January 1, 2017 instead of July 1, 2016, and create a two phase implementation process for both small and large employers.
Like many a trip to the beach, the journey of the paid sick leave portion of Santa Monica’s
Continue Reading UPDATE: Santa Monica Amends Minimum Wage Ordinance, Delays Sick Pay Implementation.
Seyfarth Synopsis: Under California law, employers have a part to play in protecting employee voting rights and other political activity. What follows is a short reminder of employer duties and obligations.
With the June 7, 2016, primary right around the corner, California employers need to be prepared for election season. For your reference, here is a quick summary of
Continue Reading Vote YES! for Compliance: An Election Law Refresher for California Employers