Labor and Employment

Employers should consider restructuring their commission programs in light of a recent California Supreme Court decision requiring that employees are assured of receiving 1.5 times minimum wage in every bi-monthly paycheck.

Employers making “per diem” payments should immediately review their practices under the FLSA, as the Labor Department has determined a non-exempt employee’s FLSA overtime compensation must be based upon his or her “regular rate” of pay, which may go beyond stated hourly rate to include all “remuneration for employment” that is not otherwise excludable from the regular rate.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals upheld an employee’s argument that she should not have been fired while seeking intermittent FMLA leave to care for her grandchild, though grandparents caring for grandchildren is not covered explicitly under law. As a result of this decision, employers may have to start erring on the side of providing FMLA leave in situations where their employees are looking after grandkids, so long as it is intertwined with providing traditional, direct care to a family member.

Newark joins New York, Seattle, and San Francisco in passing mandatory paid sick leave laws, which went into effect May 29. The law allows workers to use up to 40 hours a year in paid sick time, for part-time as well as full-time employees, and does not allow employers to inquire into the nature of the medical issue.

The Supreme Court’s ruling that police officers conducting a warrantless search of cell phones are violating the Fourth Amendment should put employers on notice, Littler attorney Philip Gordon writes. Private employers must treat smartphones differently from other personal property when conducting a workplace search.