California Wage and Labor Law Update

Overview

This episode examines the shifting landscape of California labor and employment law, focusing on landmark Supreme Court decisions, alarming data on wage violations, and detailed regulatory analysis that dictates how private companies and public entities must operate. The discussion covers the Pineda v. Bank of America ruling that drastically increased potential liability, staggering data on wage theft across California's major metro areas, and the complexities of public sector employment including transparency requirements, union relations, due process, and discipline cases.

Learning Objectives

After completing this episode, participants will be able to:

1. Analyze the Pineda v. Bank of America decision extending waiting time penalty statute of limitations from one year to three years and understand retroactive impact
2. Evaluate staggering wage theft data showing $2.3-4.6 billion annual loss across four metro areas with 46% violation rate and barriers to reporting
3. Navigate public sector employment framework including MNBA governance, Hill balancing test for union access to private contact information, and transparency requirements
4. Assess collective bargaining rigor including impasse requirements, pension reform ballot initiative limits, and effects bargaining standards where union specificity not initially required
5. Apply procedural due process requirements including unbiased tribunal standards, ethical wall demolition in Saby case requiring two unaffiliated law firms
6. Distinguish managerial rights from bargaining scope including past practice termination for investigation integrity and whistleblower protection split across McVeigh and Edgley cases
7. Understand disability and accommodation issues including essential job function standards from Samper case, PDLL as floor not ceiling, and willfulness defense requirements
8. Implement compliance strategies addressing three-year exposure window, procedural perfection requirements, and risk management for public and private sector operations

Key Takeaways

1. Three-year exposure: Pineda extends waiting time penalty statute from one to three years retroactively

1. Perfect hygiene required: Employers must maintain perfect procedures on every departing paycheck

1. $2.3-4.6B annual loss: Wage theft across LA, San Jose, San Diego, SF metro areas

1. 46% violation rate: Nearly half of surveyed workers suffered serious employment violations

1. 23% reporting rate: Only 23% reported violations, most only to employer not authorities

1. Over 50% retaliation: Over half of reporters faced retaliation in various forms

1. Union access mandatory: Must provide private contact information to unions for duty of fair representation

1. Hill balancing applied: Privacy invasion weighed against governmental interests

1. Two law firms required: Saby ruling demolishes ethical walls for shared firm advisor/advocate roles

1. Impasse formal process: Must make formal LBFO before declaring impasse and unilateral action

1. Ballot initiative limits: San Diego/San Jose cases show popular mandate cannot override bargaining duty

1. Ethical walls insufficient: Shared fiduciary responsibility creates appearance of unfairness for tribunals

1. Procedural failure permanent: Hernandez case shows failure to serve notice properly led to reinstatement

1. Whistleblower split: McVeigh (broad protection) vs. Edgley (narrow reading) creates uncertainty

1. PDLL is floor: Four months pregnancy disability leave is minimum, FEHA may require more