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by Cathleen S. Yonahara In a recent case, a California employer followed a federal regulation for calculating overtime on a flat-rate bonus. An employee filed a lawsuit alleging that the calculation was improper under California law. Which side ended up prevailing?
We’re considering changing our meals reimbursement policy from reimbursement of actual costs to a standard meal allowance for out of state travel. The objective is to make the expense fully deductible to the employer for tax purposes. What is the best way to go about this and are there any specific concerns? What (if any) […]
In a recent CER webinar titled “Exempt v. Non-Exempt in California: How to Evaluate Classifications to Determine If Employees are Entitled to Overtime,” Mark J. Jacobs and Ryan D. Wheeler outlined some guidance for California employers regarding proper employee classifications and correct calculations of overtime pay. They kindly lent their expertise to answer questions from […]
A subscriber recently wrote in with the following question: “What are the legal requirements that we must adhere to for allowing California employees access to their personnel files?” Here’s our response.
The California Supreme Court is currently considering the scope of employer meal break obligations under state law. The question before the court is whether employers must only “provide” a meal break, or “ensure” that employees take meal breaks. There’s no indication of when the court will be making its ruling.
There are two types of four-day workweeks in California: alternative workweeks and reduced-hour workweeks. Alternative Workweeks When there is no reduction in the overall number of hours the employee works in a week (or in the employee’s workload), this is called an “alternative workweek schedule.” An example of an alternative workweek would be employees working […]
In the January issue of California Employer Advisor, we reported on Brinkley v. Public Storage, Inc., which held that employers are required merely to provide employees with meal and rest periods, not ensure that employees actually take them (CEA online subscribers can read more on the case here).
In the March issue, you explained the rules regarding when employers must provide or pay for employee uniforms. I have a follow-up question. We provide employee uniforms: cotton golf shirts and easy-care pants. However, we require employees to clean these items themselves, and we don’t reimburse them for cleaning costs. Are we violating the law?