California law generally holds that an employer may not pass the ordinary costs of doing business on to employees.  However, this general rule has a multitude of nuances once one examines all the different costs that arise in the employment context and the various Labor Code and Wage Order provisions that apply.  This article addresses five types of costs that arise in the employment context and the various regulations that apply to those scenarios: 1.…

Here are five employment law and non-employment law issues that had my attention this week: 1. Will the future workforce be paid daily? The Wall Street Journal’s article, “The Wait for Payday Doesn’t Have to Be So Long” raises some interesting issues about efforts to lower the time it takes for employees to receive paychecks.  The article noted that there are a variety of fronts that can speed up paycheck processing.  On one…

Hope you are enjoying the summer so far.  As many employees take vacation during August, employers in California must be aware of unique rules that apply to vacation time. This Friday’s Five reviews five issues on vacation policies that can create traps for employers operating in California: 1. No use-it-or-lose-it policies permitted. Under California law, vacation is treated the same as earned wages and vest as the employee performs work. Because vacation is earned proportionally…

Mediation is one of the aspects of litigation that can be confusing for parties in a lawsuit, but there are few ground rules to understand about the process that can make it a lot less daunting.  Mediation is a non-binding meeting where the parties in a lawsuit hire an independent third party (a retired judge or lawyer) to try to reach a settlement.  Here are five concepts all parties should understand about the mediation process:…

California’s Paid Sick Leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, became effective on January 1, 2015.  While employer have been subject to the law for over four years, there are still some questions that employers have about their obligations.  Below are five questions that are still routinely asked by employers. 1. Can an employer’s attendance policies violate the law? Yes.  Employers need to review attendance policies to ensure that the policy does…

Happy Friday.  Here is a refresher post for today’s Friday’s Five about some requirements about 10-minute rest breaks required for non-exempt employees: 1. Timing of rest breaks The 10-minute rest break must be provided to employees who work over three and a half hours.  Employers must authorize and permit employees to take 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked, or “major fraction” thereof.  A “major fraction” of four hours is anytime more than two…