On January 18, 2024, the California Supreme Court tackled a divergence in appellate opinions regarding whether trial courts have inherent authority to dismiss a PAGA claim based on “manageability.” The Court determined that although trial courts can utilize several methods to effectively manage PAGA claims, they do not have the authority to dismiss such cases outright if they are deemed to be too intricate or time-consuming.

As many of you know, California employment law compliance is not about good intentions—it’s about following the rules to the letter of the law. This holds true with employee wage statements (paystubs). Even seemingly minor violations of the Labor Code, like the wrong corporate address, can carry with them crushing penalties. These penalties apply to every employee, for every wage statement, for every pay period for up to a year until the violations are fixed.

Have you heard the one about the clients who loved their lawyers so much they made a banner? As an oft-maligned profession, attorneys are much more familiar with clients avoiding them than singing their praises, so this was a first for us!

The California Department of Finance published a letter on July 31, 2023, stating that the state minimum wage, which is currently $15.50 per hour, will be increasing to $16.00 per hour effective January 1, 2024, to account for inflation.

On February 15, 2022, a five-year-old kindergarten student diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder was illegally and improperly restrained by an Oakdale Heights Elementary School special education teacher.

For the first time this year, California is requiring employers to report not only their employees’ pay data but also pay data for individuals hired through labor contractors (i.e., staffing agencies). On an annual basis, these reports will be due the second Wednesday in May for the prior year.

On February 15, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered another chapter in the arbitration agreement saga playing out in California and across the U.S. in a case called Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Bonta.

As you find your footing in the new year, we wanted to send a quick reminder that it’s a great time to circle back to those best practices we mentioned.  Taking care of compliance issues in the first part of the year means you’ll have more time to focus on running your business.