(323) 652-9451(805) 845-1752
(323) 652-9451|
On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court, in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, clarified the rule for calculating the premium required when employees are unable, because of workload, to take a timely rest or meal period. Given the potential for employees to sue employers in class actions for failing to strictly comply with this rule, and the fact that the holding applies retroactively, this is a significant development.
By way of background, California employers are required to provide nonexempt employees a paid 10-minute rest period for every 4-hours of work, and an unpaid 30-minute uninterrupted meal period by the end of the 5th hour (and 10th hour, if applicable) of work. These rules should already be quite familiar to employers.
The California legislature recognizes this is not always possible due to an employee’s workload or other issues. Therefore, an employee who is not provided required rest and/or meal periods must be paid an additional hour of pay at the employee’s “regular rate of compensation” for every missed meal or rest period. Until the Ferra decision, this “regular rate of compensation” was simply a worker’s hourly wage, without regard to additional, non-discretionary payments, such as bonuses or shift differentials.
In Ferra, the Court held the opposite, that meal or rest period premiums must be paid at a rate of pay that reflects regular pay + incentives, such as non-discretionary bonuses or shift differentials. Calculating this “regular rate of compensation” for rest and meal period premiums now mirrors the formula previously applied to determine the “regular rate of pay” when calculating overtime premium pay.
If an employee is indeed paid non-discretionary bonus or incentive pay, the calculation of his or her “regular rate of compensation” can initially seem somewhat daunting. Consider an employee who earns $17/hr, but also receives an additional $3/hr shift differential when she works a night shift. In a particular week, she works 60 hours (40 regular hours, 13 overtime hours and 5 double time hours). Of those 60 hours, 30 are paid at the employee’s base rate of $17, and the remaining 30 hours are paid at $20/hr to reflect the $3 night shift differential.
Under the old rule, any rest or meal period premium would be paid at the employee’s base pay, $17. However, under the Ferra holding, an additional calculation must be conducted, which establishes the rest or meal period premium must be paid at the weighted average rate of $18.50. (Total compensation is $1,110, divided by 50 hours, equals the weighted average rate of $18.50; this is her “regular rate of compensation” for that week only.)
Given this development, what should employers do? We recommend the following:
|
Employment law trial attorney Alex Craigie has been selected to the 2021 Southern California Super Lawyers list, an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Southern California receive this distinction.
In April 2013, the Super Lawyers selection process received a patent (U.S. Pat. No. 8,412,564) from The United States Patent and Trademark Office. This distinction is relevant to both attorneys and consumers, as it further demonstrates credibility as an impartial third-party rating system.
Bar associations and courts across the country have recognized the legitimacy of the Super Lawyers selection process. In July 2008, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the findings of a Special Master, who stated:
“[The Super Lawyers selection process] is a comprehensive, good-faith and detailed attempt to produce a list of lawyers that have attained high peer recognition, meet ethical standards, and have demonstrated some degree of achievement in their field.”
“Suffice to say, the selection procedures employed by [Super Lawyers] are very sophisticated, comprehensive and complex.”
Last fall, the California Legislature broadened the obligations of employers to provide sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to their workforce. This Bulletin briefly explains these changes.
Expanded Scope for Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
For many years, only California employers with 50 or more employees were required to provide supervisors with sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training every 2 years. However, Senate Bill (SB) 1343, signed into law in 2018, changed this requirement in two important ways.
First, SB 1343 now requires employers with just five (5) or more employeesto provide sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training every two years.
Second, the law previously required only that supervisorsreceive sexual harassment prevention training. SB 1343 expands this requirement, as well, so that all employees, including seasonal and temporary workers, must receive sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training every two years.
What if You Provided Training to Supervisors in 2018?
Many employers reading this may have complied with the then-existing law and provided sexual harassment prevention training to their supervisors in 2018. Common sense would dictate that, at least as to these supervisors, these employers have met their obligation until 2020, right?
WRONG! In its FAQs, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) states that, “[e]mployees who were trained in 2018 or before will need to be retrained.” “Employees” in this context applies to supervisors trained in 2018.
Additional Rules Regarding Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
What Should Employers Do
Employers should take steps to ensure allemployees, including part-time, temporary and seasonal workers, receive the required sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training sometime this year. Employers with questions about these changes or needing help finding a sexual harassment and abusive conduct training provider should contact their qualified employment law counsel.
Employers often find it difficult to justify, practically or emotionally, paying severance to an employee being terminated for cause. After all, employers ask, why compensate and reward a worker who broke the rules? It may be easier when the separation is a layoff, yet even under these circumstances, the company’s financial condition may constrain its ability to offer money to a separating employee, getting nothing but goodwill in return.
This Employment Law Bulletin briefly discusses severance and its primary justification: obtaining a release of any future employment law-based claims. We explain why best practices dictate employers set emotions aside in order to secure the protection provided by a release in exchange for a severance payment. We also discuss important issues related to the drafting and implementation of an enforceable severance agreement.
Why Offer Severance
There are sundry reasons an employer may want to offer severance to a separating employee: to reward a worker for years of loyalty; to cushion the blow of an unexpected layoff; to maintain goodwill in the community; or to preserve standing as a competitive, quality employer in the industry.
These are all sound reasons. They explain why employers might consider offering severance in many instances. But the single best reason why employers should offer severance to every terminated employee (i.e., one who is not leaving by her own volition) is the protection that a severance payment, combined with a well-drafted severance agreement, provides against a future claim or lawsuit.
Let’s begin by defining “severance.” In order to support a binding agreement in which the employee waives any claims, the severance must be compensation to which the employee wasn’t already entitled by virtue of her employment. Many employers we work with are surprised to learn that severance does not need to equal several months’ or even several weeks’ pay. This can be a particularly helpful point when considering offering severance to an employee terminated for lying or theft. The investment can be minimal. The peace purchased for merely a few hundred dollars (or less!) is always well worth the investment.
What Severance Buys You
Provided the agreement is properly drafted, signed and otherwise enforceable, the severance payment purchases a promise by the separating employee that she will not bring any claim or lawsuit, in a court or with a government agency, arising out of the employment relationship. Our typical California severance agreement expressly protects against seventeen (17) separate common law causes of action, as well as claims that could potentially be brought under eighteen (18) separate state and federal statutory schemes and regulations.
In fact, the only employment-related claim that cannot be expressly released by way of a severance agreement is one for unpaid wages, which can include reimbursement of expenses, overtime and waiting time penalties. Perhaps most importantly, most reasonably competent lawyers will abandon a claim, regardless of its apparent merits, where a potential client has signed an enforceable severance agreement with the former employer. In this way, for an investment of as little as a few hundred dollars, an employer can avoid incurring attorney’s fees and costs fighting a spurious claim.
The Elements of an Enforceable Severance Agreement
We cannot overstate the importance of having a knowledgeable employment law attorney draft your severance agreement. A severance agreement is a contract. In addition to pitfalls common to every type of contract, there are crucial drafting considerations unique to a severance agreement. This is particularly true if the separating employee is over 40-years-old. An agreement waiving any claims under the Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act (“OWBPA”) must meet eight (8) statutory requirements, including providing the separating worker a 21-45 day period within which to consider the Agreement before signing it. Even then, the employee has seven (7) days to revoke the agreement. If the employer pays the severance before the expiration of the 7-day period, and the employee revokes the agreement, she may keep the payment and the employer is without recourse to recoup the funds!
In addition to an explicit waiver of any claims that could be brought under federal, state, common law, county, city or local ordinances, a severance agreement can and should provide other protections. Among these, we recommend clauses requiring confidentiality of the severance and prohibiting future disparagement of the employer and its management. It is generally a good idea also to include a clause in which the employee agrees not to apply for employment at any future time; this protects against future claims of discrimination in hiring.
The employee should never be pressured to sign the severance agreement, or to sign it “right away,” as this can provide a duress defense which may undermine the effectiveness of the agreement. It is also a good idea to include a severability clause so that, if an issue arises, a court can later “sever” out any portions of the agreement that are unlawful, rather than rendering the entire agreement unenforceable. A merger clause is also advisable, to prevent a terminated employee from claiming additional terms that are not included on the agreement itself.
Conclusion
California employers should always consider offering a severance when terminating an employee, provided the employee signs a well-drafted severance agreement waiving any claims arising out of the employment relationship. The severance payment need not be sizeable. However, it is crucial that the agreement be drafted properly. Employers with lingering questions should not hesitate to contact their experienced employment law counsel.
