A California plaintiff who prevails in a wage-hour lawsuit generally may recover his or her attorney’s fees. The same is so for employers -- but only for the next few months.
A new statute will take effect in January 2014 that will change whether and how an employer who prevails in such a case may recover its fees. In a state already overrun with wage-hour lawsuits with questionable merit, that new statute seems to ensure that even more meritless wage-hour lawsuits will be filed by plaintiffs’ counsel who count on the in terrorem effect of those lawsuits to force employers to settle such claims – and who pocket 40% of what they recover.
Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that raises the standard for a prevailing employer to recover fees when they prevail in wage-hour actions. Effective January 2014, an employer must meet a higher standard than an employee to recover fees. It must not only prevail in the lawsuit, but it must establish that the lawsuit was brought in “bad faith.”
By Michael Kun
Yesterday, only weeks after its long-awaited Brinker v. Superior Court decision, the California Supreme Court issued another important ruling on California meal and rest period laws.
In Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that neither party may recover attorney’s fees on claims involving meal and rest periods. The Court analyzed the legislative history of the meal and rest period provisions and concluded, “We believe the most plausible inference to be drawn from history is that the Legislature intended [meal and rest period] claims to ...
By Michael Kun
Understandably, employers have celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. ---, --- S.Ct. ---, 180 L. Ed. 2d 374 (2011) and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. ---, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742 (2011). At the very least, those cases would seem to suggest that the wage-hour class actions and collective actions that have besieged employers might be curtailed significantly, along with the costly settlements triggered by the in terrorem effect of such lawsuits.
California employers can stop celebrating, or at least tone down ...
Recent Updates
- Executive Order 14398 Survives Preliminary Challenge: What Contractors and Subcontractors Should Know with Respect to DEI
- How Employers Can Manage Shorter EEOC Charge Response Deadlines
- Menopause as a Protected Class: Growing Trend or a Hot Flash?
- The Second Circuit Joins Fellow Circuits in Extending Limitations on Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
- Updating Your First Aid Kit: What Employers Need to Know About Opioid Antagonist Requirements in New York