Hunter Pyle, Author at Hunter Pyle Law

Individual Liability for Wage and Hour Violations under California Law

Hunter PyleFebruary 11, 2021May 6, 2021

This blog post explores several California statutes that allow workers to sue individuals for unpaid wages and related claims. That scenario normally arises when workers are employed by a business entity such as a corporation, and that entity is unable or unwilling to pay the wages that it owes. As demonstrated by the Atempa case analyzed below, the issue of whether individuals can be held liable can become critical when a corporate employer files for bankruptcy in an effort to avoid its obligations to its workers.

The relevant statutes discussed are Labor Code sections 558, 558.1, 1197.1, and 351. Continue reading “Individual Liability for Wage and Hour Violations under California Law” →

Alter Ego/Piercing the Corporate Veil in California Wage and Hour Cases

Hunter PyleFebruary 2, 2021

In any given week, approximately 25 percent of workers do not receive all of the wages that are owed to them.[1] As much as $50 billion per year in wages go unpaid nationally, with an estimated $26 million per week unpaid in Los Angeles County alone.[2] Those workers who are brave enough to pursue their […]

Employee or Independent Contractor? The State of California Law in 2021

Hunter PyleJanuary 31, 2021February 1, 2021

Determining whether a worker is an employee (EE) or an independent contractor (IC) under California law has become more complicated in recent years. However, in 2020 the California Legislature clarified that the ABC test (which is described more fully below) should be applied to all claims brought under either the California Labor Code or California’s […]

Opposing Voter Suppression — The Battle for Georgia

Hunter PyleJanuary 14, 2021January 16, 2021

I am writing this from the airport in Atlanta, where I have spent the past five days doing my best to help make sure that the Georgia Senate runoff elections were fair and that all votes were counted. The experience was both inspiring and chilling, so I am going to jot down some thoughts before the press of business and family in the “real world” re-consumes me.

First off, a disclosure: I believe very strongly that the voting process should be as easy as possible. In college (before the internet ruled our lives), I volunteered for a small organization that was trying to get the local city council to adopt a measure that would study, and, hopefully, implement a process by which voters could cast their ballots by telephone. That’s right: pick up the phone, enter your id, cast your vote, and, presto! You are done. No line, no worrying about signatures, no hassle. Despite our best efforts, and many long hours spent gathering signatures in the frigid Colorado winter, the effort failed. (Its leader, a fellow nicknamed “Evan from Heaven,” then went back to busking on the local pedestrian mall.) Continue reading “Opposing Voter Suppression — The Battle for Georgia” →

Do California’s Wage and Hour Laws apply to Workers who live in other States or who travel outside of the State for work?

Hunter PyleAugust 12, 2020August 26, 2020

California’s laws are among the best, if not the best, for workers in the United States. But do those laws apply to workers who live in other states? And how about workers who live and work in California, but also work in other states?

Oman v. Delta Air Lines and Ward v. United Airlines, two 2020 decisions from the California Supreme Court provide some guidance with respect to those questions. Because they build on an earlier case, Sullivan v. Oracle (2011) 51 Cal.4th 1191, 1201, we will start our analysis there. Continue reading “Do California’s Wage and Hour Laws apply to Workers who live in other States or who travel outside of the State for work?” →

Proving Unpaid Wages without Records: A Roadmap for Claims under California and Federal Law

Hunter PyleMay 9, 2020July 30, 2020

Wage theft, or situations in which an employer fails to pay its employees for some or all of the wages of that they earned, has gotten more attention in recent years. (See, for example, https://www.kqed.org/news/11780059/were-being-robbed-california-employers-who-cheat-workers-often-not-held-accountable-by-state.) This post explores how workers battling wage theft can prevail even when there are no exact records showing how much they are owed.

Continue reading “Proving Unpaid Wages without Records: A Roadmap for Claims under California and Federal Law” →

Can They Fire Me for Complaining About Coronavirus? Your Right to a Safe Workplace in California

Hunter PyleMay 5, 2020August 26, 2020

Hunter Pyle Law has received a number of calls from workers who are being targeted for retaliation after complaining that their workplace was not safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This post explores some of the California laws that protect such workers. In short, as explained below, workers in California who speak out against unsafe conditions […]

Public Employee Whistleblowers Have Important Rights in California under Labor Code section 1102.5

Hunter PyleFebruary 15, 2020March 17, 2020

Public employees who are terminated after they blow the whistle on illegal conduct often have the opportunity to appeal their termination to some type of board or officer. That entity in turn usually has the authority to either rule on their claims or to make a recommendation to a civil service agency regarding whether the termination should be upheld or not. These proceedings hold out the promise of swift justice-a hearing and a decision by an impartial fact-finder in a relatively short amount of time. In practice, however, they rarely result in any type of reinstatement or fairness.

Public employees who make use of these appeals often find that when they try to bring their claims in court, where they have a better chance of getting a fair shake, the public entity argues that they are barred (“precluded”) from suing because they already had a hearing as part of the appeal process. In other words, public entities try to block public employees from suing just because the public employees make use of the civil service appeal process (which, as described above, is rarely fair or impartial).

That was the case in Bahra v. City of San Bernardino (9th Cir. 2019) Case No. 18-55789. Mr. Bahra, the plaintiff, worked as a social services practitioner for San Bernardino County in the Department of Children and Family Services (“CFS”). He discovered that a particular foster home was abusing children, but that CFS’s database did not reflect that history because of a series or database mistakes. He then reported these errors to his manager. Continue reading “Public Employee Whistleblowers Have Important Rights in California under Labor Code section 1102.5” →

Meal Breaks and Rest Breaks: Guidance from the Second DCA

Hunter PyleJanuary 31, 2020March 17, 2020

Cacho v. Eurostar, Inc. (2019) 43 Cal.App.5th 885, provides some guidance regarding when courts will and will not certify class actions claiming failure to provide meal breaks and/or failure to authorize and permit rest breaks under California law.

Continue reading “Meal Breaks and Rest Breaks: Guidance from the Second DCA” →

PAGA, Individual Claims, Public Entities, and Section 1102.5 Whistleblower Claims

Hunter PyleSeptember 30, 2019April 30, 2020

On September 8, 2019, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District issued an important decision in the case of Hawkins v. City of Los Angeles (Case Nos. B279719, B282416). That decision casts light on the following questions: (1) Whether PAGA claims can be brought on behalf of an individual, as opposed to a group of aggrieved employees; (2) Whether PAGA claims can be brought against public entities; and (3) Whether attorneys’ fees are recoverable under Labor Code section 1102.5.

Continue reading “PAGA, Individual Claims, Public Entities, and Section 1102.5 Whistleblower Claims” →