The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

It seems like the theme this week was minimum wage.  Unsurprisingly, I expect there to be increased coverage of the minimum wage issue in the coming weeks and months as other states push the minimum wage issue.  And on that note, Go USA! A Few Key Notes for California Employers to Prepare for the Minimum Wage Increase July 1st Nancy Yaffe has a few things that California employers should review ahead of the scheduled minimum wage increase on July 1st.  While the checklist is rather short, it includes several important items that employers should not forget. Seattle Leading the Charge for Highest Minimum Wage Rate in the Country Hourly employees may want to start looking at jobs in Seattle after the Seattle City Council voted to up the hourly minimum wage rate to $15 beginning in 2017.  While the increased rate will be phased in over several years, Seattle is poised to become the leader in the highest minimum wage rates afforded to hourly workers.  This article breaks down

Summer "officially" started as of last Saturday, and with the start of the season, warmer temperatures are around the corner.  As a result, it is important for employers (and employees) in California to be mindful of some of the important laws regarding working conditions in extreme heat, and the new penalties that have been put in place for failure to adhere to these laws. Under California’s Heat Illness Prevention statute, Title 8 Section 3395(d) , employers are required to provide training and access to shade and adequate drinking water for employees who work outdoors in high heat conditions.  When the outdoor temperature exceeds 95 degrees Fahrenheit, California OSHA mandates a recovery period of not less than 5 minutes for employees who work outside to take a cool-down rest, in the shade, to protect themselves from overheating.  However, it is important to note that prior California OSHA Board decisions and Standard Board committee notes have refused to charact

Stallworth v. Guyoung Tech USA, Inc. - US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, Southern Division Facts : Tanisha Stallworth was hired to work at Guyoung Tech USA, Inc.  On June 28, 2012 while at work, Jin Rae Cho (a Vice President of Guyoung and supervisor) approached Stallworth to talk about work and placed a hand on her butt.  Stallworth backed away and asked a fellow employee to talk to Cho.  Cho then asked Stallworth to come back over and after talking with her, patted Stallworth's butt again, smiled, and gave her a thumbs up. Stallworth reported the incident and was told that it was not the first time Cho had done that and would not be the last.  Stallworth then sought out HR to complain and file a sexual harassment complaint.  After a period of time, Stallworth was informed that her services were no longer needed.  Stallworth subsequently filed a discrimination claim against Guyoung for Cho's actions.  Guyoung moved for summary judgment on Stallwo

Jong v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. - California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three   Facts :  Henry Jong worked as an outpatient pharmacy manager for Kaiser.  After leaving Kaiser, Jong and two other outpatient pharmacy managers brought a class action against Kaiser and alleged they had not been paid for off the clock overtime hours worked, in violation of California Labor Code Section 1194.  The employees alleged that after being reclassified from exempt to non-exempt employees (exempt employees are generally not entitled to overtime pay while non-exempt employees are), they were "forced" to work off the clock overtime hours to keep up with Kasier's demands.   The trial court granted Kaiser's motion for summary judgment and held that Jong failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether Kaiser knew or should have known that he worked overtime hours.  Jong appealed to the Court of Appeal. Holding :  The Court of Appea

As with many employment and labor law related cases that are being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. Facts :  The EEOC has brought suit against a New York company and alleged that the company required its employees to participate in prayer circles, thank God for their job, and say "I love you" to managers and co-workers.  Three former employees of the company alleged that in addition to participating in prayer circles, they were required to read spiritual texts, burn candles, and keep the lights dim.  After these employees complained about the practices, they were subsequently fired. It is important to keep in mind that at this point, these are just allegations.  The company has yet to file an answer, and at that point, we will have a better idea of where this case is going. The Main Issue :  Whether the company violated federal law when it forced employees to take part in religious activities in t

We all know what time it is.  Every four years, for a couple weeks, the World Cup comes around.  With that, comes the inevitable crush of employees who now want to take time off work, whether it be vacation days or "sick" days to watch the matches.  For those employees who do come to work, many stream the matches on their computers, phones, tablets, etc. during the day.  Unsurprisingly, this leads to a decline in work production.  The question then becomes, what can be done to combat this? Some employers take a hard nosed approach and block any websites that employees could access to watch or listen to the matches, ban the use of employee phones or tablets at work, etc.  However, no one wants to work for the employer who yells at employees for watching the matches (or checking scores) or makes it his/her mission to catch employees in the act.   The key thing is for employers to set expectations up front with employees.  Employers might be better served by reminding

Paying Employees For Travel in California This is a well written and comprehensive article recently posted on the Seyfarth & Shaw blog which outlines when employers are required to pay employees for travel.  While the article lays out the basics of what the law requires, it also points out a few key exceptions that are important to keep in mind. Social Media & the Increased Nightmare for HR Andrew Szczesniak has an interesting take on how the increased usage of social media has caused a growing nightmare for HR.  Although common sense, Andrew has a few thoughts on how to "control" the impact of social media posts by considering how the posts could be interpreted and taking steps to ensure a social media policy is in place. Six Key Areas the EEOC is Allocating Resources For Across the Country Readers of this blog have seen the EEOC Roundups I have posted previously and are aware that the EEOC has been aggressive about pursuing particular claims recentl

City of Houston v. Proler - Texas Supreme Court Facts : Shayn Proler was a firefighter with the Houston fire department.  After a fellow firefighter complained that Proler refused to enter a burning apartment building, Proler was reassigned to the firefighter training academy for a period of time.  Proler was later transferred back to the firefighter crew and experienced an incident at a house fire in which he was unable to take orders and had difficulty walking.  After he was taken to a hospital, he was diagnosed with "global transient amnesia."  A short time later, Proler was again assigned to the training academy. Proler filed an administrative grievance and sought to be reassigned to the firefighter crew.  After an administrative appeal judge sided with Proler, the City of Houston appealed to a trial court and Proler counter sued for disability discrimination under state and federal law.  At trial, a jury found the City had discriminated against Proler because o

Those following the blog the past few months have noted the increasing number of wage and hour lawsuits that have been brought against N.F.L. teams.  As of this point, the Oakland Raiders , Cincinnati Bengals , Buffalo Bills , New York Jets , and  Tampa Bay Buccaneers  have all had wage and hour lawsuits filed against them this year by former cheerleaders.  These lawsuits have alleged, among other things, that the teams are paying the cheerleaders less than minimum wage, in violation of Federal and state labor and employment laws. The first cheerleader lawsuit that really set the dominos was brought by a former Raiders cheerleader in January.  A few days ago, two former Raiders cheerleaders also filed a wage and hour lawsuit against the team.  This lawsuit is very similar to the one previously filed in January:  While the cheerleaders are paid $125 per game, they end up making around $5 per hour with all the other required promotional activities they are required to attend.  Th

Carmona et al. v. Lincoln Millennium Car Wash Inc. et al. - California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight Facts :  Current and former employees sued Lincoln Millennium Car Wash and other employers and alleged wage and hour violations.  The employers sought to compel arbitration in the case.  At issue was an arbitration clause in the employment agreement that the employees had signed.  While both the arbitration clause and a confidentiality clause had been translated into Spanish, the portion of the confidentiality clause that set forth the enforceability of arbitration and the fact that the employees were waiving their rights to appear before a court were not translated.  When the employment agreements were given to the employees, the sections that were not translated were not verbally explained, nor was the fact that arbitration would become binding in the event of a dispute verbally explained either.  At trial, the court ruled that the arbitration agre

Each state has a host of new employment and labor related laws that take effect in 2014. This series focuses on several new laws from around the country that are of particular interest.  In this instance, this note focuses on an amendment made by New York City. On March 26, 2014, the New York City Council unanimously passed legislation to amend the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"), specifically in regard to interns.  The amendment now provides all interns (both paid and unpaid) with protection from discrimination and harassment.  The amendment now protects interns on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, gender, national origin, disability, and sexual orientation.  As well, employers will now be required to make reasonable accommodations for interns' disabilities, in certain situations.   It is important for NYC employers to note that this amendment to the NYCHRL goes into effect June 14, 2014.  Interesting enough, New York City joi

Each state has a host of new employment and labor related laws that take effect in 2014.  This series focuses on several new laws from around the country that are of particular interest.  In this instance, there are two related "password protection laws" that have just been passed by Louisiana and Oklahoma.  To make it easier to follow, I have combined this update. HB 340 (Louisiana) limits employers' access to private online account information of its employees and job applicants.  As a result, the bill signed by Governor Bobbie Jindal, makes usernames, passwords, or other authentication information that allows access to employee's or applicant's online accounts off-limits to employers.  Under this new law, the employer cannot request or require that an employee or applicant supply this type of information and consequently cannot fire, discipline, fail to hire or penalize an employee or applicant who does not give in to the employer's request.