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L.A. Restaurant to Pay Over $300,000 for Off-the-Clock Work

888 Seafood Restaurant, a Chinese eatery in the San Gabriel Valley, has agreed to pay $306,500 in overtime back wages following a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigation that revealed pay improprieties. The funds will be shared by 57 employees who routinely put in additional work time after they clocked out, according to the DOL. […]

News Flash: Employer Jailed Following Investigation Of Pension Plan

Russell Crawford, the former owner of Valley Building Materials in Canoga Park, was ordered to spend six months in jail plus 10 months of home confinement for embezzling more than $700,000 from employee pension plans. Following a joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor and the FBI, Crawford reportedly admitted draining the company’s profit […]

Safe-Driving Checklist: July 2004

  Obey The Law Observe speed limits. Obey traffic signs and signals. Pass other vehicles only on the left. Signal before changing lanes. Never pass a stopped school bus. Yield to drivers who have right-of-way. Never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Use your seat belt.

News Notes: New ADA Ruling Protects Seniority Systems

Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that, in most cases, an employer doesn’t have to make an exception to an established seniority system to provide an accommodation to a disabled worker. Now, the same court has clarified its original ruling, going even farther in protecting seniority policies. The case involved a disabled […]

Age Discrimination: TV Writers’ Lawsuit Claims Age Bias

A group of 28 screenwriters have filed a class action lawsuit against the major television networks, studios and talent agencies, claiming that a pattern of age discrimination exists in the television industry that has squeezed out writers who are over 40. The writers charge that the networks, studios and agents are so eager to capture […]

Wage Disputes: California Appeals Court Says Exempt Corporate Executives Are Protected Too

Most employers know that exempt, salaried employees aren’t covered by California’s overtime requirements. But as a California appeals court decision points out, that doesn’t mean that other state Labor Code wage protections similarly don’t apply to exempt workers.   Pay Dispute Arises David Mazur was vice president of sales and marketing at On-Line Power, Inc., […]

News Notes: EDD Rescinds New Pregnancy Disability Policy

Last month we reported that the California Employment Development Department announced it would pay maternity disability benefits only for the time period a woman is actually disabled from working rather than for the four weeks before childbirth and six weeks after (or eight for a cesarean). The agency has now abruptly reversed itself-and reinstated the […]

Employer Settles With EEOC After Providing the Wrong Accommodation

An employer will pay $88,500 to settle claims that it failed to provide the right accommodation to a worker with a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission behalf of Jose Arteaga Rivas, a sheet metal mechanic who worked for […]

Do Interns Crash the Learned House of Geeks?

It’s hard to believe that the “wedding crashers” would be allowed to crash into the citadel of Internet security and secrecy, that house of learned geeks—the Google campus! A new movie, “The Internship,” starring Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Owen Wilson, was rumored to be filming in Silicon Valley.   And yes, these 40-ish guys are […]

The Pros and Cons of Utilizing the Gig Economy

Yesterday’s post highlighted some important information and statistics you should know about the gig economy. Today’s post will highlight the benefits and downsides of the gig economy you’ll want to consider, for both employers and gig workers.