The University of California (referred to in this post as “the Regents”) employs more than two hundred thousand people. Determining which laws apply to the Regents can be challenging. Gomez v. Regents (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 386 provides some guidance with respect to California’s wage and hour laws. In Gomez, the plaintiff challenged the Regents’ policy […]
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New Attorneys Fees Provision Should Apply Retroactively to Pending Whistleblower Cases
California’s whistleblower law, Labor Code section 1102.5, helps discourage employers from retaliating against employees who report unlawful activity in the workplace. It’s an important law because it safeguards other rights and privileges afforded to employees. Last fall, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1947, an amendment to Section 1102.5. The new Labor Code […]
Read more...Truck Drivers Lose California Meal and Rest Breaks under Federal Court Ruling
Our country’s economy is built on the backs of truck drivers, whose demanding trips keep them on the road and away from their families while allowing Americans to receive goods from across the world in a matter of days. In spite of this service they provide, truck drivers engaged in interstate commerce do not enjoy […]
Read more...My Company Went Out of Business and Owes Me Wages: Successor Liability in California (2021)
Workers who are the victim of wage theft can bring claims either in court or at the Labor Commissioner to recover their unpaid wages, damages, and penalties. Those claims, if successful, result in a judgment against the workers’ employer. But what if the employer goes out of business to avoid liability, and reforms a short […]
Read more...Joint Employer Liability in California Wage and Hour Cases
Workers who sue for unpaid wages in California often find that their immediate employer has no money to pay them. Fortunately, California has a broad joint employer doctrine that allows workers to sue entities other than their immediate employers-including both businesses and individuals-for such wages. Continue reading “Joint Employer Liability in California Wage and Hour Cases”
Read more...Individual Liability for Wage and Hour Violations under California Law
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”
Read more...Alter Ego/Piercing the Corporate Veil in California Wage and Hour Cases
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 […]
Read more...Employee or Independent Contractor? The State of California Law in 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 […]
Read more...COVID-19 FAQ
The COVID-19 crisis has caused tremendous hardship for California’s workers. As businesses shutter or reduce their services and operations, employees face layoffs, heightened health risks in the workplace, and great uncertainty about their futures. Hunter Pyle Law has compiled the FAQ below to help you understand your rights in the workplace during the COVID-19 era. […]
Read more...Opposing Voter Suppression — The Battle for Georgia
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”
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