IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
This week on “Professionals of the Inland Empire” (PIE) podcast, attorneys Chris Weaver and Olga Peña join John Tulac to discuss California employment law.
Chris Weaver, serving as plaintiff counsel, has 20 years of experience in employment law, with the last 10 years focused on the plaintiff side. His practice areas include wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and wage & hour matters such as unpaid overtime and underpayments. Weaver prefers individual lawsuits where employees have suffered clear harm over purely technical claims.
Olga Peña is an attorney with 10 years of experience, having previously worked as a high-school teacher. She is dedicated to employer defense, particularly assisting small businesses. Peña often observes that most employer errors are unintentional, and genuinely “bad actor” employers are rare.
Employment disputes frequently feel personal, necessitating that lawyers reframe them as business matters. Peña employs strategies like involving employers in depositions and elaborating on the emotional context in mediation briefs to humanize these disputes and facilitate negotiation. California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) notably imposes severe penalties for even technical wage & hour violations, irrespective of intent. While Weaver concentrates on cases involving substantive employee loss, Peña advises her clients on the “paternalistic” nature of California’s regulations and the unavoidable “cost of doing business” associated with compliance.
Civil employment litigation and workers’ compensation operate as parallel legal systems. From a plaintiff’s perspective, coordinating between these systems can be challenging. However, it is easier for defense attorneys, who can achieve global settlements that offer complete resolution for employers facing exposure across multiple fronts, such as workers’ compensation claims, DLSE claims, and civil lawsuits. Employers face significant challenges in keeping track of the high volume of annual legal changes, including recently mandated Workplace Violence Prevention Plan requirements. Practical advice for employers includes subscribing to specialized newsletters, conducting year-end audits to account for policy changes, and diligently documenting their good-faith compliance efforts.
California’s AB 450, also known as the Immigration Worker Protection Act (enacted in 2018), establishes specific requirements for employers regarding ICE access. This law mandates that employers deny ICE access to non-public areas unless presented with a judicial warrant. Furthermore, it requires employers to notify employees of I-9 inspections, educate them about their rights, and establish clear protocols for managing ICE raids. The act also explicitly prohibits retaliation against employees who decline to speak with ICE.
Key recommendations for employers to ensure compliance and manage risks include building a comprehensive compliance calendar, adopting “humanity-first” policies to foster a positive work environment, and meticulously auditing wage-hour practices, particularly regarding meal and rest periods. Additionally, employers should thoroughly document accommodation processes, plan proactively for potential ICE raids and incidents of workplace violence, and consider pursuing global settlements to resolve multi-agency claims effectively.
The PIE podcast aims to showcase Inland Empire professional talent, foster local economic development, and highlight the Provisors networking community. Catch the full show on YouTube @ProfessionalsofInlandEmpire.
