California Workplace & Employment Law Blog

The California Labor Code allows employers to choose the beginning and end times of the “workday” and “workweek” as long as the “workday” covers a consecutive 24-hour period commencing at the same time each calendar day, and the “workweek” covers any seven consecutive days starting with the same calendar day each week.  This is important because once defined, the employer’s “workday” and “workweek” become the benchmarks by which overtime pay is determined.

The City of Los Angeles’s paid sick leave ordinance went into effect for employers with 26 or more employees last July. The City’s sick leave law takes effect for employers with 25 or fewer employees on July 1, 2017. Under the City’s ordinance, employees are entitled to take up to 48 hours of sick leave annually, which is double the amount provided for by California’s paid sick leave law.

Whenever a client asks me to prepare a severance agreement for a departing employee, the first thing I ask is if the employee is 40 or older.  This is important because severance agreements for employees who are 40 or older must comply with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), which specifies the minimum requirements for a release of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).