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PLANES, TRAINS, CARS & CAMELS

Hourly employees must be paid for all “hours worked.” Where an employee is required to travel for work, near or far, the employer must compensate the worker for that time. Exceptions are normal commute time or road trip downtime. Thus, an hourly worker who watches a movie through a flight for business is still earning pay for his or her hours on the plane except the time spent taking a meal, as traveling employees are still entitled to meal and rest breaks.

CAN I BRING MY MONKEY TO WORK?

Upon arriving to work on Monday morning your customer service manager asks if she can bring her monkey to the office.

PREPARE FOR SUMMER

No California employer is obligated to provide paid vacation time to its workers. However, such benefit is a common practice, promoting morale and productivity. Once a company grants paid vacation (for example, one week annually), it is considered an accruing benefit, i.e., an employee earns it gradually throughout the working year. See,Vacation Pay in California(March 2011) andRequiring Use of Paid Vacation for Unpaid Leaves(August, 2012).

DON’T FLUNK THE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION TEST

TheCalifornia Fair Employment and Housing Act(FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to engage in an “interactive process” with a worker requesting accommodation of a disability. The employer must have timely, good faith and ongoing discussions to explore if and how to reasonably accommodatethe physically or mentally disabled worker’s ability to perform theessential functionsof his or her job. Failure to do so can be a costly error.

CORRECT PAY STUBS SAVE BUCKS

Attorneys for employees alleging underpayment or other wage irregularities will regularly add a pay stub violation claim to the mix. By definition, if an employer has erred in wage calculations, it has messed up the earnings statements. California law on the specific information that must be included on a stub is detailed and virtually unforgiving of widespread or long-term mistakes.

FOR WHOM THE PHONE RINGS

On April 10, 2018, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace(The Task Force)announcedthat it will telephonically interview randomly-selected California employers on their anti-harassment policies including employer-sponsored training and other anti-harassment complaint procedures.

THE BASICS OF OVERTIME

California lawrequires most non-exempt employees to receive overtime pay for time worked beyond forty hours in any oneworkweekor after eight hours in oneworkday.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

No-one likes lawyers … until you need one. Experienced and knowledgeable business managers are usually capable of handling basic employment issues. Yet, laws governing the workplace tend to change frequently and companies can face formal complaints, liabilities and large attorney bills if significant employee disputes or decisions are not resolved early. Employers grappling with more complex or high stakes circumstances should contactan experienced employment attorney.

EMPLOYEE TERMINATIONS

Mary manages a customer service department in a large company. Other employees and customers have complained about Brad, one of the employees Mary supervises. Most of Brad’s co-workers handle calls without requiring assistance. Yet, for a few months now, as many as 20% of Brad’s calls have had to escalate to supervisor level for resolution. When Mary has raised the issue, Brad has been rude, brushing off responsibility. While getting ready to terminate him, she also overheard Brad boasting abo