The 2024 California Law on Marijuana Testing of Employees and Job Applicants (AB 2188)

By Eugene Lee |

Laws about work are constantly changing in California. Laws regarding marijuana testing at work are no exception. California passed Assembly Bill 2188 (AB 2188) on 8/30/22, bringing some important changes regarding how employers can test employees or job applicants for marijuana use and how they treat positive test results. In this blog post, we’ll break…

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Labor Attorney Eugene Lee Wins $500k and $235k Appeals, Defeats $10 mil. Lawsuit

By Eugene Lee |

Congratulations to Eugene Lee, Esq. for winning two separate appeals in the 2d District Court of Appeal. The result allows his clients to keep the $506,000 and $235,000 in judgments he won for each of them. In the process, he defeated a $10 mil. lawsuit that an employer had brought against his client. Opposing counsel…

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California Meal Break & Rest Break Law (2023) – Quick Calculator + Charts

By Eugene Lee |
meal breaks

Under California meal break law (which is much more generous to employees than federal labor law), if you are a non-exempt worker, you are entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted, duty-free meal break if you work more than 5 hours in a workday.  You are also entitled to a 10-minute uninterrupted, duty-free rest breaks for every…

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Final Paychecks – When Are They Due? (2023)

By Eugene Lee |

A question I hear a lot is: “I just left my job, when is my employer supposed to pay me my last paycheck?” The answer is: it depends. If you were fired or laid off If the employer ended your employment — fired you, laid you off, eliminated your position, etc. — they must have…

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Are Employers Required to Give Holiday Pay or Paid Holidays? (2023)

By Eugene Lee |

When it comes to holidays, many employers in California and across the country tend to give employees either the day off with pay (“paid holiday”), or give extra pay for hours worked similar to overtime pay (“holiday pay”). The most common paid holidays are: New Year’s Day Memorial Day Easter Independence Day (4th of July)…

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“Sharp” Defense Lawyers Smacked Down by Appeals Court

By Eugene Lee |

Ever wonder what would happen if a lawyer tried to “pull a fast one” on a trial court judge? Wonder no more. In Francisco Diaz v Prof. Community Mgt., Inc., a case decided in October 2017 by the Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeals, an appeals court considered the case of two unscrupulous lawyers who…

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Can Employers Require Employees to Remain on Premises? (2023)

By Eugene Lee |

A reader of this blog recently asked an intriguing question: “Your boss may require you to remain on work premises during your rest break.: Is this still true after the recent California Supreme Court decision? I believe the reader was referring to Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., 2 Cal. 5th 257 (2016). That decision…

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California Supremes Limit Arbitration Waivers

By Eugene Lee |

The key excerpt from this latest ruling from the California Supreme Court, McGill v Citybank, says it all: In previous decisions, this court has said that the statutory remedies available for a violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA; Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.), the unfair competition law (UCL; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200…

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My Boss 1099s Me, Am I Really an Independent Contractor? (2023)

By Eugene Lee |

If your boss gives you a 1099 tax form each year, does that mean you are an independent contractor? What if you signed an independent contractor agreement? What if you submit invoices to your boss to be paid? The answer may surprise you.

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Can My Boss Fire Me at Any Time for Any Reason? What is “at will”? (2023)

By Eugene Lee |

“At-Will”. California is an “at-will” employment state. What does this mean? In most cases, it means that your boss can fire you at any time for almost any reason or no reason at all. She can fire you because she

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