By Michael S. Kun and Aaron Olsen
You probably remember the scene in Jaws when Roy Scheider's character first sees the shark that he and his crew have been pursuing.
And you probably remember what he says: "We need a bigger boat."
Well, after the California Supreme Court's latest ruling, California employers may need a bigger boat.
Already besieged by wage-and-hour class actions, California employers now need to brace themselves for a new wave of representative actions under California’s Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") after the California Supreme Court has made it ...
How quickly can $87 million go up in smoke?
Pretty darned quickly, especially if you are referring to the $87 million that was awarded to plaintiffs and their attorneys in a tip-pooling class action against Starbucks in San Diego.
In Chau v. Starbucks (CA4/1 D053491 6/2/09), Jou Chau, a former Starbucks barista, brought a class action against Starbucks challenging the Company's policy that permits certain service employees, known as shift supervisors, to share in tips that customers place in a collective tip box.
If you've ever been to a Starbucks, you know exactly where that tip box ...
By Michael Kun
The wage hour class action epidemic that has plagued California employers for the last decade or so appears to have no end.
If anyone tells you otherwise, they are not paying enough attention.
And if they tell you the California Supreme Court is about to put an end to the epidemic, they are mistaken about that, too.
The California Supreme Court couldn't put an end to it even if it wanted to, at least not with the issues now before it. And who is to say that they want to do that anyway?
As in recent years, employers and their counsel are awaiting several important rulings from the ...
by Michael Kun and Kathryn McGuigan
In recent years, the alleged misclassification of employees under California's wage and hour laws has been a hotly contested issue and the subject of a great many class actions. Faced with several appeals pending before it, the Ninth Circuit has now sought guidance from the California Supreme Court on the outside salesperson and administrative exemption tests as they apply to pharmaceutical sales representatives. Such guidance should prove invaluable to employers in the industry, and to parties to these claims.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- Minimum Wages Adjusted Across the USA
- DOL Opinion Letters Provide Practical Insight and Guidance – What Employers Need To Know
- Minimum Wages and Exemption Thresholds Adjusted Across the USA
- Demystifying Wage and Hour Audits - One-on-One Video with Courtney McFate
- Minimum Wage Increases Coming Soon Across the Nation – Especially in California