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Jul 03 2018
CaliforniaWage and Hour

Penalty for missed rest periods in California includes all compensation

A federal district court in California has ruled that when calculating the additional one hour of pay at the regular rate for missed rest periods under California Labor Code 226.7, an employer must include not only base pay, but also commissions, incentives, and bonuses. A group of 4,481 home mortgage consultants filed a class action…

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Jun 19 2018
Wage and HourWashington

Pay Washington agricultural piece-rate workers for nonproductive time

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that employers are required to compensate agricultural piece-rate workers on a separate hourly basis for all nonproductive time spent performing activities outside of piece-rate picking work. This nonproductive time must be paid at the applicable minimum wage or a contractually agreed rate, whichever is higher. The ruling arises from…

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Jun 19 2018
Leave LawsQ&AWage and Hour

Q&A: FMLA-required rest breaks generally not compensable under FLSA

Answer: Probably not under the FLSA, but check state law. Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter addressing federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) required rest breaks and whether employers must pay for them under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The answer depends on who predominantly benefits from those…

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May 29 2018
CaliforniaHarassment & DiscriminationOregon

Brace for impact of pay equity laws

With Starbucks’ recent announcement that the company has achieved 100 percent pay equity by race and gender for U.S. workers performing similar jobs, most employers are left wondering how Starbucks got there—and how they can get there, too. The topic of equal pay continues to make headlines, and California, Oregon, and Washington are at the…

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May 11 2018
CaliforniaWage and Hour

California employers can’t rely on federal law to pay OT on flat bonus

The California Supreme Court has rejected federal law on overtime calculations for flat sum bonuses, ruling that state law requires a more worker-friendly calculation. An employer offered a flat bonus of $15 per day of weekend work for employees who worked a full shift on a Saturday or Sunday. Because a flat bonus effectively increases…

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May 08 2018
Wage and Hour

9th Circuit says prior salary doesn’t justify pay differences under EPA

When setting wages for new hires, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) doesn’t allow consideration of prior salary, ruled the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A female math consultant hired by a county school district sued when she discovered her male colleagues in the same position were earning more than she was. The county defended…

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Mar 29 2018
Q&AWage and Hour

Q&A: Be realistic when promising employee bonuses

Answer: Yes. A court would likely find that the company has a contractual obligation to pay the bonuses. The company made an offer to pay a bonus if one condition is met: employment for three years. An employee accepts this offer by beginning performance, which in this case means working toward the three-year mark. Once the…

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Mar 28 2018
Wage and HourWashington

Washington Governor signs pay equity reform bill

On March 21, 2018, Washington officially joined the multitude of states tackling pay disparity as Governor Jay Inslee signed the Equal Pay Opportunity Act (Second Substitute House Bill 1506). The Act significantly expands Washington’s existing pay equity law for the first time since its adoption in 1943. Applying to all employers with at least one…

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Mar 27 2018
Q&AWage and Hour

Q&A: Be careful when considering a settlement for back wages

Question: We recently conducted a self-audit and discovered that we underpaid one employee for wages earned. If we pay her the past wages owed and ask her to sign something releasing us from liability, are we covered? Answer: No. Conducting self-audits can be helpful in identifying errors in your wage and hour practices and providing…

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Mar 13 2018
CaliforniaTermination & ResignationWage and Hour

No extra OT owed for bonus based on % of earnings in California

An employer’s award of a bonus based on a percentage of overtime earnings didn’t require any extra overtime payments, ruled a federal district court in California. The decision illustrates how a dispute over 12 cents can literally turn into a federal case. During one particular workweek, an employee earned $4.745 in overtime. The employer provided…

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Feb 14 2018
Q&AWage and Hour

Q&A: When employee attends voluntary training, is the time paid or unpaid?

A: The general rule with employees is that you must pay for the time spent in training, as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, you aren’t required to pay employees for the time spent in training if ALL of the following are true: (1) attendance is outside the employee’s regular working…

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Nov 27 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringOregon

Oregon BOLI won’t enforce salary history bill until 2019

According to email correspondence with officials at BOLI, the agency ultimately determined that the new law doesn’t grant enforcement authority until January 1, 2019. The salary history provision was contained in one section of the Oregon Equal Pay Act (HB 2005), which also greatly expanded employers’ potential liability for pay differences among employees performing “comparable”…

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