Your company may be in trouble if you (or the president/owner you work for) have had one of the following thoughts:
1. My company is too small to be sued in a wage and hour class action.
2. I’m too busy to think about employment law issues – I’ll get to it next week.
3. I cannot afford an attorney to review my policies and give me some advice on what policies I should have. (Hint – you are probably talking to the wrong lawyers if you cannot get some quick answers without having to pay each time you pick up the phone to call your lawyer.)
4. I don’t need a meal and rest break policy – my employees know they can take a break whenever they want.
5. My current handbook is fine, [insert one of the following]:
a. I found it on the Internet.
b. the previous company I worked for used it.
c. I had my lawyer review it when I founded the company in the 1980’s.
d. my friend who owns a business in the same industry gave me a copy of her handbook.
6. My payroll company [insert one of the following]:
a. Watches out for my company.
b. Knows California’s wage and hour laws.
c. Calculates and pays proper overtime for my employees.
7. All of my employees are exempt employees – I find its simpler than having to figure out overtime and track employee’s hours each week.
8. What? California employers with more than 50 employees are required to send their supervisors to sexual harassment training?
9. Vacation pay policies, timing of final pay checks, and the information on the employee’s itemized wage statements are very trivial and any violations cannot create that much liability for the company.
10. I protect my company by having employees sign a statement each pay period stating that they have been paid all of their wages in full – therefore extinguishing any potential liability.