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On July 15, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance aimed at curbing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, saying that most workers qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and stressing the statute’s expansive definition of employment. In the DOL’s first “administrator’s interpretation” of 2015, Wage and Hour…

On June 18, an Orange County jury ruled against internet marketing company eGumball for unlawfully firing and discriminating against their own HR Manager upon her return from maternity leave. The company will pay the plaintiff, Kimberly Perry, more than $538,000 in damages. In February 2013, Perry told her boss, John Bauer, that she was pregnant. …

In April, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that federal courts sitting in diversity will not uphold jury-trial waivers in contracts signed under California law, even where each party waived its rights “knowingly and voluntarily.”  The court held that federal courts sitting in diversity must apply the underlying state law to…

Beginning July 1, state law will require all California employers to annually provide at least 3 days of paid sick leave to their employees.  The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522) applies to all California employees (including part-time) who work at least 30 days a year, regardless of the employer’s size.  In…

Generally, employers in California are free to define their workdays and workweeks as they see fit, with at least one major caveat: they may not structure the workday or workweek in a way that systematically prevents employees from earning overtime pay. A recent case, Jakosalem v. Air Serv Corp., highlights the risks inherent in this…