What California Employers Need to Know about Wage and Hour Law Compliance

This episode is a deep dive into the complexities of state versus federal regulations, the nuances of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), and the critical ABC test for employee classification. From joint employer rules to the intricacies of wage order postings and commission agreements, this discussion is packed with essential insights. Join Brett and Jared as they dissect the critical aspects of wage and hour law compliance, offering a wealth of knowledge to help you steer clear of legal pitfalls and maintain a compliant and efficient workplace. 

 

Highlights:

• Don’t forget to follow Sutton Hague on social media! 

• So many businesses don’t realize they’re in the red with wage and hour law compliance.

• Brett explains the difference between wage and hour California state law vs. federal law. 

• This subject can be a constant moving target for employers. It is hard to keep track if you do not have active legal counsel. 

• What do people need to know about the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)? 

• Under PAGA, employees can file on behalf of other employees who suffered from a different violation than they did. 

• What is the ABC test to determine if you have an employee vs. an independent contractor? 

• You need to know who your employees are and what they’re classified under. 

• What is the joint employer rule and how does that affect you conducting business with another business entity? 

• In labor code section 2810.3, if you have more than 25 employees and use more than 5 temporary workers from a staffing agency, you share liability over those people. 

• Are Vice Presidents with a six-figure salary exempt employees under California law? This is false! 

• Wage order posting requirement: What you need to know and how to determine which one to post based on your business. .

• You need to have written commission agreements for your employees. 

• There is a PAGA penalty for every single labor code violation. Even if you paid your employees correctly, but don’t have the correct agreements in place, you could be subjected to penalties. 

• You must have a paper trail. This includes payroll records. 

• By the way, rest periods are counted as hours worked. Should you track these ‘rest’ periods?

• If an employee asks you for a hard copy of their pay stub, you must give it to them. 

• It should be displayed very, very clearly an employee’s overtime wage rate. 

• Should employers mail out checks to terminated employees? 

• What does an employer do if an employee quits but they weren’t notified until a week after the fact? 

• How should employers handle expense/reimbursement issues? 

• What are the rules behind employee uniforms? 

• When does it make sense to reimburse employees for their cell phone usage? 

• There are different ways to reimburse mileage rates. You can do it via a fixed sum or variable sum, but if you vary from the standard IRS rate, the burden of proof is on you. 

• Vacation PTO: What should California employers be aware of? 

• What do you do if you have an employee on vacation but still answers emails and phone calls? 

• How long is an employer required to cover the medical premium of an employee while they’re out on family and medical leave? 

• Did you know under California law, employees can not work 7 days a week. However, you can waive this. 

• What do you need to know about wage order 4? 

• If an employee requests a direct deposit, what do employers need to do to accommodate this? 

• There is a salary threshold test for administrative, executive, and professional exemptions. Jared talks about a rule that will be going into effect soon that will push the salary exemption level higher. 

• Make sure your job descriptions are accurate and that they correctly describe what your employees are doing. 

• What do you do with an outside sales exempt employee that might no longer qualify? 

• Do you have to pay employees for travel time to job sites or client locations? 

• It’s important employers track the flow of when an employee clocks out vs. when they officially leave the building. The nuances can get you in a lawsuit. 

• Should you round up or down when it comes to time? Be careful when you do this. Small increments of time are important to employees. 

• California minimum wage is going up! What do employers need to know? 

• How do you calculate the regular rate of pay? Why is this so important to get right? 

• Longevity bonuses do not have to be included in the regular rate of pay. However, there are caveats. 

• How do you calculate the regular rate of pay when there’s a bonus involved? For example, per diem rates? 

• Under federal law, there is no required meal rest break, but this is not true in the state of California. 

• If an employer doesn’t provide a complaint meal period in a day, you could have two violations and owe one hour of pay for each day you didn’t provide a meal period. 

• If the employee doesn’t want to take a meal break, they don’t have to, but it would be best if they signed a waiver confirming this. 

• Why does Brett recommend offering employees 35 minute meal periods as opposed to 30 minute meal periods? 

• Rest breaks included relieving the employee of all duty; which means they need to refrain from checking email, phones, or even work radios. 

• It is very important for managers and supervisors to also understand the rules behind rest breaks and meal periods. Ideally, there should be regular training for this in your workplace. 

• Can a class action waiver apply to PAGA claims? The answer is no! 

• You should still have an arbitration agreement in place. You also have to pay for the cost of the arbitration in order for this to be enforceable. 

• Look out for Sutton Hague’s webinar schedule for next year! 

 

Resources:

Suttonhague.com

Calnevalaw.com