Blogs By: Scott Shibayama, Esq.

California’s minimum wage rises to $10 per hour starting January 1, 2016. Once again, California employers must gear up for pay raises, not just for employees paid on an hourly basis at minimum wage, but also for exempt employees. We explained why this is the case two years ago…Read More

Win For Employers – Avoid PAGA Penalties By Curing Paystubs Errors! On October 2, 2015, California passed a new law that helps California employers. The law (AB 1506) amends the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) to reduce frivolous PAGA claims. The new law took effect…Read More

The Governor signed AB 1522 into law on August 30, 2014, stating: “Tonight, the Legislature took historic action to help hardworking Californians. This bill guarantees that millions of workers – from Eureka to San Diego – won’t lose their jobs or pay just because they get sick.”…Read More

If you own an apartment or hotel/motel and provide free lodging to your employee(s), pay attention. Otherwise, the rest of you California employers can take a breather. A common practice in the apartment/hotel/motel industry is to allow the manager to live in one of your…Read More

More Good News For California Employers On The Employment Arbitration Front. Within one month, we have two California courts of appeal ensuring employment arbitration agreements are enforced according to their terms, as they should be. The cases are Tiri v. Lucky Chances, Inc. (5/14/2014) and Malone v.…Read More

The California Supreme Court has ruled California employers may avoid employee class action lawsuits through binding arbitration. (Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 6/23/2014). This is clearly a big win for all employers, large and small. California Employment Arbitration Agreements For California employers, arbitration…Read More

That’s what the California anti-discrimination statute says.  But California courts have interpreted “prevailing” employer to mean “but only if” the employee’s discrimination lawsuit was “unreasonable, frivolous, meritless, or vexatious.” So it’s not enough for the employer to win the case.  Employer still losses on attorneys’…Read More

A common misconception is paying an employee a salary makes them “exempt” from payment of overtime.  I bet at least half of you reading this are saying, “what, you mean that’s not the case?” That’s right, it’s not.  While paying a salary is required, there…Read More

Smart employers know having written employee policies is good business. But who would have thought the absence of a written policy – when the law does not require one – could create liability for employers?  And when that lack of a written policy can result…Read More

Here’s more inside scoop from the continuing education course on employment and labor law for attorneys I recently attended. This a continuation of Part 1.  Read Part 2. Lessons learned, Part 3: Unemployment Insurance Claims This one I found particularly interesting.  When I used to represent very large…Read More