by clever | Jun 2, 2020 | Wage & Hour
Although there are exceptions for certain industries and positions, most California employers must provide employees with a 30 minute meal period break for every 5 hours the employee works. The meal period break must be off duty, which means the employee must be fully relieved of his or her duties during the break. An employer that fails to provide a 30 minute meal period must pay an employee who works through his or her meal period one hour’s pay as a penalty. This is in addition to the pay due the employee for the actual time worked when he or she should have been on break.
An employee may work through his or her meal period with no penalty to the employer if the employee chooses to do so. But if the employer knows that the employee worked during the meal period break, the employer must pay him or her for the time worked. Also, if the employer pressures the employee to work through his or her break, the employer must pay the penalty.
California employers must also provide a paid rest break of at least 10 minutes for every four hours an employee works. The rest break must be as near to the middle of the four hour period as is practicable for the employer.
While the penalty for failing to provide a meal period may seem small, it can add up to a substantial amount of money if the violation continues over time. If your employer has failed to provide meal or rest period breaks, you may be able to recover wages due and penalties. Contact the Law Offices of G. Samuel Cleaver by email or phone at 323-648-6676 for a free consultation.
by clever | May 20, 2020 | Wage & Hour
To kick off the California Workplace Rights Blog, the blog is reviewing 10 of the most often violated employee wage and hour rights.
At the top of the list of frequently violated workplace rights is unpaid overtime. California law requires California employers to pay employees at time and a half for all hours worked over 8 hours in a day and 40 hours in a week and to pay two times the employee’s regular rate for all hours worked over 12 hours in a day. Additionally, employees who work seven days in a row must receive time and a half for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh day and double time for every additional hour.
Some employers try to get around the law by paying their employees a salary instead of an hourly wage. The employers tell employees they are “overtime exempt” because they receive a salary. The truth is exceptions to California’s overtime law are very narrow. Most California employees, even those that are paid a salary, must receive overtime pay. Employers who don’t properly pay their employees overtime are committing wage theft, which is a misdemeanor crime. (Labor Code Sec. 553).
Other employers tell employees that the employees aren’t eligible for overtime because they are managers or assistant managers. But the law looks at many other factors than just job title to decide whether an employee is overtime exempt. For example, if a manager or assistant manager doesn’t earn more than twice the minimum wage or spends more than half his or her time doing the same work as non-managerial employees, then he or she should receive overtime pay.
California law provides powerful tools for employees to recover unpaid overtime. If you think your employer has failed to pay you overtime, email or call the Law Offices of G. Samuel Cleaver at 323-648-6676 for a free consultation today.
by clever | May 5, 2020 | General Employment Law
The Coronavirus has affected workers throughout the country, especially in California. Many workers have fallen ill, are caring for family members who have fallen ill or are caring for children whose schools have closed. Recently the Congress passed a law to provide relief to these and other groups of workers. The law is known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new law takes effect on April 1.
Important: The law only applies to employers with less than 500 employees. At the end of this post is a link to the Dept. of Labor Fact Sheet About the Law.
(If you think it should apply to all employers, you should contact your Congressional Representative and Senators and ask them to expand it.)
The law is divided into two parts. The first part provides paid sick leave in the following situations:
- 80 hours of sick pay at your regular rate of pay if you have Covid-19, are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis, or have been ordered to quarantine yourself
- 80 hours of sick leave at 2/3’s of your regular rate of pay if you are caring for someone who is subject to a quarantine order
- 80 hours of paid sick leave at 2/3’s of your regular rate of pay because your child’s school or childcare provider is closed due to Covid-19.
Part-time employees are eligible for leave on a pro rata basis.
This leave is in addition to any other sick leave, PTO, etc. that you may be entitled to receive.
Your employer must allow you to use this paid sick leave before requiring you to use any other kind of paid leave.
The second part of the new law is known as the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act or E-FMLA.
The E-FMLA provides 10 weeks of paid leave for parents whose child’s school or childcare provider is closed due to Covid-19. The pay is at 2/3’s of your regular rate of pay. Part-time employees may use E-FMLA leave on a pro rata basis.
As with the FMLA, under the E-FMLA provides job protections for employees who take E-FMLA leave.
Since this is a new law many employers may not be aware of it or may not understand it. You can refer them to the Department of Labor through the link below to learn more about the law.
To learn more about the FCCRA visit the Department of Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave
