EMPLOYMENT LAW BULLETIN
Vol. 04, No. 09
Courtesy of ESKRIDGE LAW

The California Labor Code's Private Attorney General Act, which became law in January of this year, has been revised to the benefit of employers (although the law still provides for recovery of penalties and attorneys' fees by employees who sue and prevail).

Under the original version of the law, employees could file lawsuits against their employers to enforce any type of Labor Code provision when the Labor Commissioner had failed to enforce the provision. Employees were not required to provide a warning to the employer, or to exhaust any administrative remedies before suing. The law provided that employees could seek statutory penalties of up to $200 per person, per day, on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated employees. Penalties were to be divided among the employee who sued (25%), the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (25%), and the California general fund (50%). The employee who sued could also recover attorneys' fees and costs. The recent changes in the law are as follows:

1. Employees can no longer file lawsuits over violations regarding workplace postings or notices, or in connection with agency reporting or filing requirements, unless they involve mandatory payroll reporting or workplace injury reporting. This provision is retroactive to January 1, 2004.
   
   
2. The employee must follow specific procedures before filing a lawsuit. For example, for some of the more serious Labor Code violations, the employee must provide written notice of the violation to both the employer and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, with a chance to investigate. For less serious violations the employee must provide written notice of the violation to both the employer and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, with a chance to cure the problem.
   
   

What you should do:

If you receive notice of an alleged Labor Code violation from an employee or an employee's attorney, by all means investigate. (It would also be a good idea to retain your own attorney.) If you are doing something which violates any provision of the California Labor Code or the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders, correct the problem immediately. Communicate with the employee (or the employee's attorney) and with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to make sure they know you are taking immediate action.

Procedures for Dealing With Paid Family Leave:

On a related topic, the Employment Development Department recently released new regulations regarding the Paid Family Leave law. These new rules provide guidance to employers on dealing with paid family leave. They include benefits claims procedures, detail eligibility and waiting-period criteria, and provide many useful forms and examples. The EDD regulations are available at www.edd.ca.gov. The site also includes a printer-friendly version of the Paid Family Leave brochure employers are required to distribute to their employees.

ESKRIDGE LAW may be contacted by phone (310/792-7021), by fax (310/792-7022) or by e-mail (geskridge@eskridgelaw.net.

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