CALIFORNIA TERMINATION LABOR LAWS

California labor law is undisputedly referred to as one of the most stringent employment laws in the United States. it is because it aims to ensure that all employees who live or work in the state benefits from the employment contract and that they are compensated for the work they have rendered to their employer. Nevertheless, there are complex components in the California labor law that needs full understanding for both employee and the employer’s rights to be preserved. In this post, we are going to consider the California labor laws on termination as well as the labor codes that are relevant to the same.

CALIFORNIA LABOR LAWS ON TERMINATION

New California labor laws are usually introduced from time to time. While some of these employment laws break new ground, most of them are extensions or amendments of the existing legislation.

Whether for a lawful reason or no reason at all, the employer or the employee may terminate an employment relationship at any time – that is the general rule in California. The majority of employees do not work with an express contract of employment (verbal or written) and are instead considered “at-will employment.” Under this doctrine and without any fear of consequences, employers have the right to hire and terminate an employee anytime they wish without the burden of presenting their reasons for such termination. Likewise, the employees may leave their posts in a company anytime they want.

Even though the law appears to favor an employer at the time of termination, there are different situations in which a termination without any clear and formal basis is considered illegal and could perhaps lead to a lawsuit. As long as there was an agreement either spoken or implied of discharge only for just cause, the employer/employee relationship is not “at-will”.

Under the California labor law, the “at-will” employment scheme only applies to those who have not engaged in an oral or written agreement stating that an employee cannot be terminated without any fair basis. If there is a need for termination, the employer needs to first, provide reasons for such an act. Any failure to follow this procedure can give his terminated employee a ground for filing a breach of contract lawsuit against him.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION

It is definitely illegal for employers to terminate workers if they are performing well on their jobs and following all the company policies. However, many employers still violate this law provision in many instances, such as:

• Termination based on age, nationality, sex, religious affiliation or disability
• Termination in retaliation for various actions and demands made by the worker, such as wage complaints, workplace safety grievances, whistleblowing actions, etc.

SOME RELEVANT CALIFORNIA LABOR LAWS ON TERMINATION

• Holiday Pay

Under California labor laws, no employer is required to provide holiday time to its employees. But if the employer and the employee agreed-upon holiday time at the beginning of employment, the employer is legally bound to abide by the agreement. Holiday time in California is considered earned wages, meaning that it is accrued throughout employment. Hence, any holiday time accrued is carried over to the following year or is paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay. For instance, if an employee is promised ten vacation days in their first year of employment, each month of work earns him about .83 days of vacations, all of which are compensable at any time, including situations where the employee resigns or are fired. The only exception to this law is in the case of a probation employment period, which an employer may impose with the prior consent of the employee. In such a case, the employee may have to wait for a predetermined period before becoming eligible for benefits and compensation for said benefits.

 

• California labor law on Minimum Wages

As at the time of writing, the minimum wage in California is $13.00 an hour. No agreement can be reached between a California employee and their employers that will make the employee get less than this for every hour they spend on the clock. However, there are exemptions for some types of workers, like those involved in managerial or intellectual work.

Under the California labor laws for salaried employees, salaried workers can be either exempt or non-exempt. Non-exempt salaried employees are eligible for overtime. Exempt salaried employees may not be eligible for overtime, but the employers have to pay salaried exempt employees twice the minimum hourly wage based on a 40-hour workweek.

Furthermore, there is no distinction between adults and minors concerning the minimum wage. Any employee who has not been paid accordingly is often entitled to back wages. A California attorney can help here. They will ensure your complaints are correctly filed with the California labor complaint board and then guide you through the entire process.

• California Labor Laws Lunch Breaks

Under the California labor law breaks, non-exempt employees must receive thirty minutes of lunch or break if they work more than five hours per day. Employees who work more than ten hours in a day are entitled to another 30 minutes meal break. If you are denied lunch breaks at the appropriate times, the California labor laws break requires you to collect penalties of 2-hours’ pay for each of the days you were not given a rest break and proper meals.

• California Final Paycheck Law

If your employment is terminated, you are entitled to be paid your last check that same day. And if you resign, your employer has about 72 hours to pay your final check.

• California Overtime Law

Under the California labor law, non-exempt workers must be paid 1.5x their regular wages or if they work more than 8 hours per day (or 40 per week) and 2x their regular wages if they work further than 12 hours per day. Similarly, there are other situations where the employees qualified for overtime pay in California.

• California Exempt Employee Law

By default, the California labor code gives all employees a right to overtime and minimum wage, but some types of salaried employees are exempted.

• California Independent Contractor Law

Employers sometimes misclassify workers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees”. This erroneous categorization can prevent employees from receiving full rights under California law. Employees can pull through labor code penalties up to $25,000 per breach if they are misclassified.

CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE

Also referred to as the labor code, the California Labor Code is a collection of civil law acts for the California state. It was developed to promote the welfare of wage earners, boost their working conditions, and to enhance their opportunities for profitable employment.

The California labor code is dedicated to labor laws. Some California labor laws are biding on an employer about their present employee, and those who resigned or their employment contract is terminated. These laws are aimed to ensure total compliance with existing California labor and employment law and to keep both the employer and the employee in check. Here are some:

• California labor code 201

Whether an employer chooses to fire an employee for poor performance or an employee decides to quit for a better job offer, the labor code section 201 requires that the employer must immediately pay the employee all the wages earned and unpaid at the time of resignation or contract termination. The law does not define when and why an employee is “fired.”

What happens if an employer fails to pay on time? If employers fail to follow the California requirements and make immediate payment of the employee’s final wages, it may result in considerable monetary penalties against the employer.

• California labor code 203

The California labor code section 203 allows a worker who is not paid all wages due at the time of termination, or within 72 hours of their resignation to request for additional monetary penalties for willful late payments. The law states that if an employer deliberately fails to pay any wages of a worker who quits or is fired, the employee’s wages will continue as a penalty right from the payable date and at the same rate until settled. However, the wages shall not extend beyond 30 days. For instance, if a worker usually earned $20 per hour and worked for 8 hours per day, the employer’s penalty would max out at $4800 if they failed to pay in time. If the non-payment of the earned wages is determined to be deliberate, an employer could face serious monetary penalties, even up to thirty times the initial amount due!

• California labor code 204

For employees who receive wages bi-monthly, the California Labor Code section 204 requires employers to issue wages at most ten calendar days following the closure of the payroll period.  Employees that are paid every two weeks must receive their earned wages within seven days of closing their payroll periods. Any payment after that is an indication that the employer is violating Labor Code section 204.

• California Labor Code 221

The labor law code states that it shall be illegal for any employer to receive or collect any part of the wages paid to an employee.

• California Labor Code 512

Lunch breaks must not be interrupted. Employers cannot call for an employee to perform any task during their lunch breaks and likewise, employers cannot discourage an employee from having one. So the state law requires California employers to allow employees to have rest during their workday. It also prevents employers from keeping their employees working for too long without a break. However, the employee may agree with the employer to waive the lunch break if the worker’s shift is below 6 hours. So the California labor law requires the said employer to give the said employees the right to an unpaid meal lunch during their shift. If, however, the employers violate the labor code, they can be liable for penalties and back pay.

• California labor code 1102.5

This state law forbids the employer from retaliating against an employee because they believe that the employee has disclosed or may disclose information regarding them to a superior in the employer’s organization, law enforcement agency or to a government, provided the employee has reasonable cause to think that the information discloses violates the law or regulation.

• California labor code 2870

This state code requires that no inventions of an employee should be assigned to an employer, provided they are entirely developed on the employee’s personal time and if they are done without using any of the employer’s supplies, equipment, trade secret information or facilities of the employer.

• California labor code 1198.5

The California Labor Code 1198.5 requires that every former and present employee or their spokesperson has the right to examine and receive a copy of their personnel records. The request must be made in writing, and the employers must abide by the request no later than 30 days from the day such a written request is received.

FILING A WRONGFUL TERMINATION CLAIM

An employee who has been wrongfully terminated has the right to file a claim at the California labor complaint office of the California labor commission against his employer with the aid of a qualified termination claim attorney. In the process, they have to present various evidence in form of documents and oral testimonies that will support his claim that he is truly terminated without any good basis, for him to have a better chance of recovery.

If the employee wins his case, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office will ensure you are duly paid through robust enforcement of labor laws. You may get the following damages from his employer:

• fringe settlement
• reimbursement of income lost
• payment for emotional misery

Aside from these, the court may oblige the employer to reinstate the employee to his former position or any post with similar compensation, benefits, and duty. A more serious legal punishment may be implemented if the employer fails to provide these damages and reinstate his employee.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AS AN EMPLOYER TO PROMOTE A HEALTHY WORKPLACE?

Get the California labor law posters. California employers are required to prominently display nine (9) mandatory federal and state labor law posters in easily accessible places. This is aimed to advise employees about their rights in the workplace. California labor law changes regularly, so it is your responsibility as an employer to ensure the posters are up-to-date.

FINAL THOUGHT

Most job-related actions by businesses towards their employees are not deliberately prejudiced, spiteful, or biased by nature. But the complexity of the law demands that employers be extremely careful when dealing with their employees or making employment decisions. In many cases, these actions are used against them in an employment lawsuit. As a reminder, California employers need to understand that California labor laws are different from Federal laws in different ways, so check with your legal counsel before making any debatable act or employment decision.

Do you need a California employment attorney to help with employment termination issues? United Employees Law Group has more information on California labor laws and can connect you with a California labor termination attorney who can help if you think you are laid off unjustly and owed back wages for unpaid minimum wage, overtime, or vacation time.

REFERENCES

• https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&division=2.&title=&part=1.&chapter=1.&article=1.
• https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1198.5
• dir.ca.gov
• https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_WaitingTimePenalty.htm
• https://www.neildymott.com/discharged
• https://www.dir.ca.gov/wpnodb.html

 

Photo credit: corund/www.shutterstock.com