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California

Employment Lawyer Network:
California

Joseph L. Beachboard (Editor)

California Employment Law

Joe.Beachboard@OgletreeDeakins.com
(213) 239-9800

Click for Full Bio

Joseph L. Beachboard is a nationally recognized expert on employment law issues who speaks regularly at SHRM and other HR events. He also is a regular contributor to several national and California publications. In 2000, Mr. Beachboard sold The Labor Letters, Inc., a publisher of monthly employment law journals that he founded to advise human resource professionals. He is a founding member and executive director of the Management Employment Law Roundtable, a national, invitation only, organization of management labor and employment lawyers.

Limiting on-call activity? Pay for that time

08/22/2013
The California Court of Appeal has held that employees need to be compensated for “on-call” hours if the employer substantially restricts their ability to engage in nonwork activities. However, employers may exclude eight hours of sleep time from 24-hour shifts, if an agreement between the employer and employee calls for it.

State-by-State Chart on Final-Pay Laws

08/14/2013
This chart summarizes the states’ final-pay laws. States without laws have been omitted.

Use documentation to show insubordination

08/01/2013

Some employees will never be happy and seem to do everything possible to interfere with a normal, well-functioning workplace. When that’s the case, don’t hesi­­tate to terminate the disruptive worker. Just make sure you document her shortcomings.

Reporting-time pay: What if it’s clear employee is in no condition to work?

07/23/2013
Q. Does California’s reporting-time pay law apply to workers who report to work but appear to be unable or unfit to work?

How should we pay for overnight travel?

07/23/2013
Q. I know that the laws on overnight travel time are more restrictive in California than under federal law. Does the overnight travel rule under federal law apply in California or does an employer have to pay all travel time even if overnight travel is involved?

U.S. Supreme Court rules on DOMA, California’s Prop 8

07/23/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court in June issued two highly anticipated decisions addressing same-sex marriage in cases that resonated nationwide and in California. The cases are significant for employers because they are likely to have ripple effects on state, federal and local laws, in particular those dealing with employee benefit plans, taxation and immigration.

TV chef Paula Deen hires L.A. attorney-to-the-stars

07/23/2013
Embattled celebrity chef Paula Deen has fired her Georgia attorneys and called in the big guns—including famed Hollywood attorney-to-the-stars Patricia Glaser—to help salvage her reputation and media empire.

Suit claims Chivas USA illegally fired non-Latino coaches

07/23/2013
Major League Soccer team Chivas USA, which plays its home games in suburban Los Angeles, has been sued for race and ethnic discrimination by two former youth coaches. They claim they were fired because they are not Mexican or Latino.

California Labor Department strategy shift benefits workers

07/23/2013
By focusing on wage theft and retaliation claims instead of broad enforcement efforts, California’s Labor Department has managed to assess more than $51 million in civil penalties against businesses found to be in violation of state labor laws.

Employee acts as own lawyer? Expect legal complications

07/23/2013
Before you jump for joy when an employee acts as her own lawyer in a federal lawsuit, consider this: Courts give pro se litigants lots of leeway, as this case shows.