In Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, the California Supreme Court determined that the phrases “regular rate of compensation” and “regular rate of pay” are synonymous for the purposes of California Labor Code section 226.7(c) and the California Industrial Wage Orders. With this seemingly innocuous ruling, however, the Supreme Court has handed a potentially
wages
DOL Delays Rollout of New FLSA Tip Rules
As we previously blogged about here, in the final days of the Trump Administration the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a series of new rules regarding how and to whom employers can distribute tips. The new rules were scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2021. We predicted that the Biden Administration might…
Washington Supreme Court Finds Employer’s Discretionary Bonus Not Unlawful “Rebate” Under Wage Rebate Act (“WRA”)
In a 5-4 decision, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled in an employer’s favor and clarified what are, and are not, statutory “wages” and unlawful wage “rebates” under Washington State’s Wage Rebate Act (“WRA”), RCW 49.52 et seq. The case is LaCoursiere v. CamWest Development, No. 88298-3 (Wash. Oct. 23, 2014) (slip op.). Camwest Development (“CamWest”) was represented by Stoel Rives attorneys Jim Shore and Karin Jones.
CamWest, a real estate development company, created an optional bonus program via individual written contracts with its participating managers. The bonus program was intended to provide the potential for larger manager bonuses in profitable years, but it also carried a downside risk of smaller, or no, bonuses in leaner years. Participating managers’ contracts made expressly clear that the decision whether or not to award an annual bonus, and the amount of any bonus, was in CamWest’s discretion. Managers did not have to participate in this higher reward/higher risk bonus program and could instead choose to receive a safer, set bonus. Managers who chose to participate in the optional bonus program were required by its terms to contribute a percentage of each annual bonus into a capital account in a separately formed managers LLC. The LLC would in turn loan money to CamWest to be invested in real estate projects that CamWest would develop. The hope and intention at the time was that this arrangement would yield higher profit and bonuses for participating managers. Manager contributions to the LLC vested at 20% per year.Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Finds Employer’s Discretionary Bonus Not Unlawful “Rebate” Under Wage Rebate Act (“WRA”)
California: New Requirements For Commission Agreements To Take Effect
Companies with employees in California who are paid on commission should be aware of a new law requiring commission agreements to be in writing. As we’ve blogged about previously, California AB 1396 was enacted last year with a deferred effective date of January 1, 2013. That deadline is now coming up quickly, and affected employers…
DOL Demonstrates Commitment to Wage and Hour Violations with Launch of New “DOL-Timesheet” App
In a highly visual public expression of its commitment to wage-and-hour violations, and to encouraging employees to file wage and hour complaints, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division entered the world of Smartphone apps when it recently launched its own “DOL-Timesheet” app for the iPad and iPhone. At first glance, the DOL-Timesheet App…
Managers Individually Liable for Unpaid Wages Despite Employer’s Bankruptcy
A recent case should strike fear into the hearts of all upper-level managers and human resources professionals: in Boucher v. Shaw, the Ninth Circuit ruled that individual managers were liable for their subordinates’ unpaid wages, even though the employer company filed for bankruptcy.
In Boucher, a group of former casino employees sued the…
Washington Supreme Court Decides Morgan v. Kingen – Bankruptcy is No Defense
The Washington Supreme Court issued a decision today in Morgan v. Kingen, holding that bankruptcy is not a valid defense to a willful withholding of wages under RCW 49.52.070. The plaintiffs in this case worked at Funsters Grand Casino in SeaTac, Washington. The casino was not a success and the owners voluntarily filed…
Make Mine a “Venti”: Starbucks Ordered to Pay Baristas $105 Million
A California Superior Court ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay $105 million in restitution to baristas who were required to pool their tips with supervisors. Chou v. Starbucks Corp., Cal. Super. Ct. No. GIC836925 (Mar. 19, 2008). The class action case was brought on behalf of all baristas who worked at any California Starbucks going…