Wage Law

ACI is presenting its 14th annual National Conference on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions in January 2012 in Miami, Florida. The conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency Miami (an excellent place to spend time in January) on Monday, January 30 and Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Here is a synopsis of the conference:

The wage & hour landscape has been turned upside down post-Wal-Mart v. Dukes and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion. Your colleagues and clients will be in Miami in late January to hone their skills and knowledge needed to succeed in this rapidly expanding and evolving area of law, adapt to emerging regulations and changing enforcement priorities, and respond new and innovative claims.  Join them to ensure that you are prepared to navigate and defend against the leading type of class action in the country.

The sheer number of wage and hour claims and class actions across the country is staggering.  Wage and hour class actions are the leading type of class action nationwide – and by a large margin.  With so many of these cases getting certified and succeeding at trial, compliance and prevention are equally important to trial strategy.   The Obama administration continues to send a strong signal that it is making wage and hour enforcement a priority, and it is clear that preventing, managing, and defending these claims remains a key issue for companies across the nation.

It is with this in mind that ACI has developed its 14th National Forum on Wage and Hour Claims and Class Actions, the nation’s premier forum for in-house counsel, labor and employment attorneys, and class action lawyers.  We have assembled an extraordinary faculty of attorneys from the nation’s top firms, a full panel of distinguished jurists, and in-house counsel from CBS, Bank of America, IBM, Ryder System, Bayer, Citigroup, Canam Steel, Family Dollar Stores, Northrop Grumman, Interval International, Coca Cola, Ally Financial, PSEG, DHL Global Forwarding, Viacom, Paychex, Direct TV, and many others.  Our unparalleled faculty will provide you with expert advice, insider strategies, and comprehensive updates on all of the latest developments, including:

• Complying with and responding to changing Wage & Hour Federal and State Priorities and Investigations
• Clarifying the standards and requirements for class certification in light of Wal-Mart v. Dukes
• Using AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion and arbitrations agreements as a tool to avoid class treatment
• Determining when employees are “on the clock” and avoiding overtime claims in the digital work world
• Examining recent rulings by courts and the DOL to ensure proper classification of employees

We've been to this seminar before, and it was a valuable experience. It's good for 12.25 hours of California MCLE credits, plus another 2 hours for each workshop (with workshop B counting toward ethics).

Here's the best part - a discount for our readers:

We've agreed to be one of ACI's media partners for this conference so that our readers can get a $200 discount off the current price tier. Use discount code WLB 200. Register by Thursday (November 17, 2011) for early bird pricing.  Rates increase after November 17 and after January 5. The walk-up price for this conference is $2,295 (additional registration fees apply for the two workshops), but as a Wage Law reader, if you act by November 17, 2011, you can get in for $1,795.

The list of topics and speakers is impressive. A complete brochure can be downloaded here. If we're not in trial, we'll see you there.

Bridgeport Education's 2012 Wage & Hour Litigation and Management Conference will be December 13-14 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, located at 404 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles. We've seen this conference before, both as speakers and as attendees. It's usually very good.

Topics include:

• Wage & Hour GPS: The Current State of Wage & Hour Management & Practice
• The Use of PAGA, 17200 SB 459, 469 and other Issues Specific to California Wage & Hour Cases
• Exemptions: Administrative & Professional & Outside Sales Exemptions
• Prosecuting group Wage and Hour Claims Outside of the Class Structure
• Class Action and Future Trends in Wage & Hour Class Actions
• the Plaintiffs View of the Future of Wage & Hour Litigation
• Effective Strategies for Pursuing and Using Discovery
• California & National Seating Wage and Hour Litigation
• Government Investigations Internal Audits and Update on DOL priorities
• Effective Strategies for Litigating & Defending Wage & Hour Class Actions at Trial
• Update on Arbitration Law and The Nuts and Bolts of Arbitrations
• Settlement Preparation, Strategies & Management

Truck driver Oscar Bell and others filed a class action complaint against H.F. Cox, Inc. alleging wage and hour violations.  The trial court summarily adjudicated three counts in favor of Cox, a jury found in favor of Cox on another count and the trial court found that plaintiffs were exempt from federal overtime compensation requirements. The court awarded Cox attorneys fees on certain claims. Plaintiffs appealed.

In Bell v. H.F. Cox, Inc. (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 62. The Court of Appeal held that (1) summary adjudication was proper as to the count for failure to pay promised vacation benefits to current employees but improper as to the count for failure to pay vacation benefits due upon termination of employment; (2) the denial of plaintiffs’ motion to exclude witnesses from testifying at trial was proper; (3) the finding that plaintiffs were exempt from federal overtime compensation requirements pursuant to the motor carrier exemption was proper; (4) plaintiffs have shown no instructional error; and (5) the attorney fee award to Cox as the prevailing party was improper and must be reversed.

The most interesting part of the holding is that employers may now safely promulgate policies that give current employees vacation pay at a specified rate that is different that their normal rate of pay. Left open to interpretation is whether a non-union worker's unused vacation pay upon termination can be paid at the lower, specified vacation rate rather than the employee's ordinary rate of pay, given Labor Code § 227.3:

"Unless otherwise provided by a collective-bargainingagreement, whenever a contract of employment or employer policyprovides for paid vacations, and an employee is terminated withouthaving taken off his vested vacation time, all vested vacation shallbe paid to him as wages at his final rate in accordance with suchcontract of employment or employer policy respecting eligibility ortime served..."

A petition for rehearing was denied. No petitition for review was filed and the remittitur has been issued.

A prior appeal involving the same parties was published and then depublished in 2008. Our post on that action can be found here.

The full opinion can be found here in PDF or Word format.

We are currently investigating employment policies at Hyatt Andaz hotels in California, in connection with a potential class action lawsuit. If you worked at as a housekeeper for Hyatt Andaz within the past four years in California, we would like to talk to you. All inquiries will be held in strictest confidence. Our investigation concerns wage and hour law issues, including off-the-clock work, meal periods, rest periods and related claims. We welcome your inquiries or assistance whether or not you are interested participating in any pending litigation or pursuing a lawsuit on your own behalf.

You can contact us at (714) 544-6609, or by email at [email protected].

Walsh & Walsh, P.C. represents California employees in claims involving all kinds of wage and hour violations, including failure to pay wages, misclassification or miscalculation of overtime pay, meal period and rest period violations, unpaid commissions, retroactive pay rate restructuring, unauthorized payroll deductions, compelled patronage, uniform violations, unreimbursed employee expenses and similar claims.

http://www.walshandwalshpc.com