California SC to Provide Relief and Hope for Good Faith Employers

 Under section 226(e), knowing and intentional wage statement violations give rise to a claim for penalties of up to four thousand dollars ($4,000), along with the plaintiff’s costs and reasonable attorney's fees. California employers have become accustomed to wage and hour litigation involving “derivative” wage statement claims that are predicated on a separate Labor Code violation.

 

For example, many lawsuits claim employees were required to work off the clock during meal breaks—i.e., the employer failed to rerecord and compensate for all hours worked—and thus the employees’ wage statements failed to accurately show all hours worked and all earned wages. 
 

A specific court decision significantly reduces potential liability arising from technical and “one-off” Labor Code violations for those employers who made reasonable and good faith efforts to comply with the Labor Code, and who believe they are complying with the law. In representative lawsuits, plaintiffs often claim that the alleged wage statement violations and waiting time penalties, by themselves, give rise to at least $8,000 per employee. 
 

Employers acting in good faith can now remove that arbitrary assessment of potential liability from their calculus in determining how to defend and/or resolve lawsuits.

 

Click here to read more about the court decision that reduced employer liability

 

Source(s):  CDF Labor Law, received on May 9, 2024;  California Code, accessed on May 10, 2024; Justia, accessed on May 10, 2024.