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Cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica Announced Annual Increased Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers
May 24, 2018 • Christina Tantoy
Category: Legal Updates
The City of Los Angeles announced its Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage increase, which applies to hotels in the City of LA with 150 or more rooms.
Class Action Waivers Are Lawful and Should Be Enforced
May 21, 2018 • Jordan A. Fishman
Category: Legal Updates
Today, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision holding that employers are not violating the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees to sign class action waivers in arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment. Rejecting the NLRB’s position that class waivers violate a workers’ right to engage in concerted action, the majority held that mandatory arbitration agreements, which bar employees from joining together in a class-action lawsuit to settle disputes over wages and working conditions, must be enforced.
California Supreme Court Adopts "ABC Test"—Sets Stricter Standards for Classifying Independent Contractors
May 4, 2018
Category: Legal Updates
Determining whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or independent contractor can be difficult. California recently made this determination less challenging by providing a more rigid test.
Trump DOL Seeks to Rescind Obama-Era Tip Pool Regulation
April 30, 2018 • Christina Tantoy
Category: Legal Updates
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) introduced regulations affirming that tips are the property of the employee regardless if the employer uses a tip credit under the FLSA. Under this framework, only “customarily tipped employees” can receive distributions from a company tip pool. Tip pools set up by employers to include employees who are not regularly tipped employees are invalid. This limitation applies even where the employees contributing to a tip pool are paid the applicable minimum wage. Moreover, employers and management staff are precluded from receiving any portion of tip pools under the current regulation. The 2011 regulation has led to voluminous litigation over what constitutes a “customarily tipped employee” and has resulted in inconsistent rulings from various courts.
California/OSHA Approves New Hotel Housekeeping Injury Standard
April 30, 2018 • Anne-Marie Mizel
Category: Legal Updates
On January 18, 2018, California’s Department of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, approved a proposed regulation requiring hotel employers to maintain “an effective, written, musculoskeletal injury prevention program (MIPP) that addresses hazards specific to housekeeping.”
Criminal Conviction for Violation of Santa Monica Minimum Wage Ordinances
April 30, 2018 • Anne-Marie Mizel
Category: Legal Updates
In July 2016, Santa Monica enacted two minimum wage ordinances, one specific to hotel workers (the “Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance”), and the other to any employees of an employer in Santa Monica (“Minimum Wage Ordinance”).
California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” (“AB 450”) went into effect on January 1, 2018. This Act prohibits California employers from allowing an ICE agent to search a worksite by an ICE agent without proper, legal documentation. Employers may not provide ICE agents access to employee records without a subpoena or warrant, with the exception of Form I-9’s and other documents for which the employer receives a Notice of Inspection.
California’s New Parent Leave Act (S.B. 63), which requires small business employers (20-49 employees) to provide employees with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected parental bonding leave went into effect on January 1, 2018.
On-Call Workers May Pursue Reporting Time Pay When They “Report” to Work via Phone.
April 30, 2018 • Adam L. Parry
Category: Legal Updates
On-call employees of fast food chain Yoshinoya claim they are owed reporting time pay when they call in for a shift but are not put to work. A L.A. Superior Court judge recently ruled that the plaintiffs may pursue their claims. This putative class of kitchen and cashier “on-call” employees call two hours before their scheduled shift to find out whether they are needed to work. If they fail to call in or do not show up for work when needed, they may face discipline. Plaintiffs claim that they are entitled to reporting time pay when they call in but are not put to work, even though they are not required to physically report to work.
Second Circuit Holds that Anti-Gay Discrimination Falls Within the Purview of Title VII
April 30, 2018 • Shirley A. Gauvin
Category: Legal Updates
The 2nd Circuit, covering Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, has revived a sex bias claim brought on behalf of Donald Zarda, a deceased skydiving instructor who was allegedly fired for telling a client he was gay. As an instructor at Altitude Express, Zarda sometimes mentioned his orientation in order to help female clients feel more comfortable when jumping, as they would be tied physically close to him during jumps. Zarda was fired after a boyfriend of one female client complained to Zarda’s boss that Zarda had inappropriately touched his girlfriend and mentioned he was gay. Zarda denied anything inappropriate and alleged that his dismissal was entirely because he said he was gay.