12/04/2009

You know you can't retaliate against an employee who has a valid wage claim. But what about an employee who mistakenly thinks he has a wage claim?

Avoid costly wage/hour litigation by making sure your employees are properly classified and paid. Join us December 14, 15, 16 & 18 for our "virtual boot camp" exemptions webinar series: How to Avoid Overtime Classification Mistakes in California in Light of Increased Wage and Hour Litigation.

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Manuel Barbosa worked as a carburetor assembly supervisor for IMPCO Technologies in Santa Ana. Based on comments from his subordinates, Barbosa reported to the company's payroll department that he and his crew were each missing two hours of overtime pay. Barbosa said he thought it might be a time-clock error. Without investigating the matter, Barbosa's manager approved paying Barbosa and his crew the two hours of overtime in the next pay period.

Later, the company's HR director compared the time clock entries with the company's security gate swipe records, and determined that Barbosa's crew could not have worked the claimed overtime. Barbosa was notified that no additional overtime was owed. Barbosa then offered to repay the two hours of overtime he'd been paid. Instead of accepting the repayment, the company fired him.

Barbosa sued for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, on the basis that he'd made a good faith wage complaint, even if ultimately his claim was in error, and that the company could not retaliate against him for it. The trial court dismissed his lawsuit.

The Court of Appeals reversed, however, holding that under longstanding California public policy, employees must feel free to question their pay without fear of retaliation, even if the employee's concern is ultimately unwarranted.

We'll have more on this case, and on establishing a wage complaint protocol, in an upcoming issue of California Employer Advisor.

Overtime Classifications Virtual Boot Camp: Get It Right Before You Get Sued

Are you sure your administrative, executive, outsides sales, and professional employees are exempt from overtime? You can't afford to be wrong.

According to the 2009 edition of the Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, class action wage/hour lawsuits in state and federal court outnumbered all other types of employment-related class actions, and the top 10 wage/hour class action settlements in 2008 totaled a staggering $252.7 million. Not chump change by any means.

With jaw-dropping settlement figures like these — not to mention the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) recent announcement that it's stepping up enforcement efforts by adding 250 field investigators to the payroll — it's imperative that you make sure you're properly classifying your workers as exempt or non-exempt.

The risks are especially substantial in California because, according to the recently released report, last year the most significant growth in wage and hour lawsuits at the state level occurred in California, as well as a handful of other states.

With the risk of litigation on the rise, now is the time for Boot Camp.

Just gather your HR team and managers around a phone and an Internet hookup. In 6 hours, we'll explain how to stay in compliance with the California and federal exemption rules — so you can help keep your company out of court.

You can pick and choose which sessions you'd like to attend, or sign up for all four at significant savings over the individual session rate. Attendees of all four sessions can earn up to six hours of California-specific HRCI recertification credit.

Each session will include about 60 minutes of presentation time, followed by 30 minutes of live Q&A. You can submit your questions in real time either over the phone or using the webinar interface — anonymously, if you wish.

And, best of all, you can train your entire team for one low registration rate. It's incredibly cost-effective training.

Register now »

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