New Minimum Wage and Exempt Salary For 2026 The new statewide California minimum wage will be $16.90 as of January 1, 2026. Remember that if you are in a jurisdiction such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, or MANY other locals, your minimum wage will be HIGHER. I will do a complete location by…
Amazon Ruling Reminder to Pay for All Time Onboarding
On September 23, 2025, a California federal judge certified a class of Amazon workers alleging that they were not paid for time spent at new hire events. The judge also granted Amazon partial summary judgment on certain of the wage claims for unpaid time spent with I-9 forms, drug testing, and going through the background…
Definition of “Uniform” Tested with Starbucks’ New Lawsuit
Last week, Starbucks employees from California, Colorado, and Illinois launched legal actions claiming their employer refused to reimburse them for required shoes and clothing under the Starbucks newly published dress code. Workers complain that despite being paid only minimum wage, the coffee giant is requiring them to use their personal money to purchase…
Substance Abuse Issues in the Workplace
I don’t know if it’s the time of year or just the state of the world, but I have been receiving increased client calls about employees under the influence at work. I thought I had written a prior article on this, but apparently not. It consequently seemed a good time to address the…
Let’s Talk About Payroll Compliance
Retain copies of all payroll documents, especially before you switch payroll providers – This issue seems to crop up on nearly a daily basis for us. My team and I are responding to demand letters from lawyers, asking for the payroll records for an employee. We are defending wage and hour lawsuits, single employee, class…
The Importance of Manager Training
Two different clients in the span of two days mentioned to me the benefits of increased focus on manager training. They both said that they knew I was an advocate, which of course, I am. But I don’t think I have ever specifically addressed the topic before. Employers, especially corporations and partnerships, are entities. That…
Drop the Concept of “Probationary Period”
The concept of a “probationary period” at the start of employment derives from the Union context, where new employees are given a certain period before they are covered under the Company’s cba (collective bargaining agreement). There, it makes sense. After that probationary period, the Company must start making contributions under the cba, and at the…
Refresher on Meal and Rest Break Compliance in California
Meal and rest break claims are still at the heart of nearly every wage and hour lawsuit – whether it’s a class action, a PAGA suit, or an individual lawsuit or administrative claim. When these lawsuits hit, my clients all assure me that they are “compliant;” yet often, when we dig in, we uncover issues. …
Misclassifying Independent Contractors, As Contracted Labor and Otherwise
The California Labor Commissioner recently cited the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC and three janitorial contractors more than $2 million for misclassifying 155 janitors as independent contractors at its Half Moon Bay hotel. The citations include $1.9 million in wages and penalties payable to the affected workers. The state found that Ritz-Carlton had hired out…
Revisiting Regular Rate of Pay – How to Calculate it and When to Pay It
Many California Labor Code sections, as well as federal wage and hour law, require that we pay our non-exempt employees based on the REGULAR RATE OF PAY (“RROP”), not the “base pay” or hourly pay that we agree to pay them. For example, overtime (under BOTH federal and state law) must be paid at the…