California Pulls Emergency Meal and Rest Rules
December 21, 2004—The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), a division of
the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has withdrawn emergency regulations
governing meal and rest periods. The division
says it now intends to follow the normal rulemaking process on new rules and will hold a series of public hearings on the new proposed regulations.
Wage & Hour Complaints and Investigations—News—California
Workers in 11 States Receive $638K in Back Wages
December 07, 2004— Staffworks, Inc., a San Clemente, California, company operating in 24 locations
across 11 states, has paid $637,951 in back wages to 878 employees to settle
a Department of Labor investigation accusing the company of violating federal
overtime laws.
CA Employers Finally See Drop in WC Premiums
November 22, 2004—For the first time in five years, California employers are seeing the cost
of their workers' compensation premiums drop, according to the San
Jose Business Journal.
Los Angeles Company to Pay $1.2M in Back Wages
November 09, 2004—Homestore, Inc. of Westlake Village, California, has reached an agreement with
the U.S. Department of Labor to pay $1,254,569 in back wages to 435 employees.
The department alleged that the company misclassified the workers as exempt
from overtime.
Farmers Insurance to Pay Up to $210M to Settle OT Suit
September 10, 2004—Farmers Insurance Exchange has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit in which
insurance claims adjusters alleged the company violated California's overtime
rules by classifying them as exempt from overtime pay, the Los Angeles Times
reports.
Federal Court Upholds Living Wage
September 07, 2004—In RUI One Corp. v. City of Berkeley, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court has
upheld the California city's living wage law as constitutional.
Wage & Hour Complaints and Investigations—News—California
Janitorial Firm Pays $1.9M in Back Wages
August 31, 2004—A company that employs janitors who clean Target stores in California, Arizona,
Nevada, Texas, and New Mexico has agreed to pay $1.9 million in back wages
to 775 employees to settle allegations that the company violated the overtime
provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Backlog in CA's Paid Family Leave Program
August 16, 2004—As many as 7,000 workers who've applied for benefits under California's paid
family leave program are learning they'll have to wait as long as 6 weeks
for their checks to arrive from the state, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
Wage & Hour Complaints and Investigations—News—California
California Amends Law Allowing Workers to Sue Employers
August 10, 2004—Lawmakers in California have scaled back a law that allowed employees to sue
their employers for labor-law violations such as safety, working conditions,
overtime pay, and wages, the Sacramento Bee reports.
