Court of Appeal: Employees Who "Retire" Have Quit Under the Labor Code

McLean v. California involves public sector employees, but it's applicable to the private sector as well.  McLean worked as a deputy attorney general. She retired in November 2010.  On her last day, she alleges, the state did not pay her final wages.

In California, all wages (including base pay, unused vacation, vested bonuses or commissions, etc.) are due on the termination date, subject to a few, narrow exceptions.  Employees who resign with less than 72 hours notice are due their wages within 72 hours of the termination date.   These provisions are contained within sections 201 and 202 of the Labor Code. There are various statutory exceptions applicable to certain industries. 

This requirement by law generally applies to state agencies.  However, state employees may elect to transfer accrued leave pay to a retirement account rather than take payment.  The state is deemed timely if it makes that transfer within 45 days of termination.

When employers pay employees after the deadline, Labor Code section 203 says that employers owe a penalty of one day's pay for each day that the pay is late, up to a maximum of 30 days' pay.  (Example: employee earns $100 per day. Employer is 31 days late with final pay. Employer owns penalty of 30 X $100 = $3,000).   The failure to pay must be "willful," which is a liberal definition and means that the employer intentionally did not pay what was owed.  Mistakes may not be deemed "willful" but many are.  Genuine disputes over what is owed (such as the calculation of a commission "earned" as of the termination date) do not count as "willful."

Attempting to avoid penalties, the state argued that "retirement" is not "quitting" under the Labor Code.  McLean and the state argued the dictionary definition and other issues to the court of appeal.    Not surprisingly, to me anyway, the court of appeal held that a retirement is a type of "quit."

So, when a person "retires," that person also "quits" within the meaning of Labor Code section 202.  If you think this post is too long, consider that it took about 14 pages for the court to get there.  

This case is McLean v. California and the opinion is here. 

California Governor Brown Signing More New Employment Laws at End of 2014 Session (Part I)

The 2014 legislative session is over.  But employers will be remembering this one for a long time.  California Governor Jerry Brown signed a host of new laws at the end of the session.  Many deal with narrow-cast and public sector-related funding issues, which I won't cover here.  (You're welcome).

But there are several highlights among the new bills that merit your attention.  Thanks as always to Phyllis Cheng, on behalf of the California Bar's Labor and Employment Law section, for compiling the information and sending it out.

AB 1723 expands the Labor Commissioner's power to issue citations for under payment of wages to include waiting time penalties (not a new penalty, but a different method of enforcement).

AB 2617 appears to prohibit pre-dispute releases between employers and independent contractors that include waivers of claims under the "Ralph" and Bane Civil Rights Acts.  These are civil rights laws prohibiting hate crimes and violence based on protected criteria.  This law does not appear to apply to employees, but it's unclear because it's written so poorly.  But it only applies to provisions included in a contract for goods and services, and only prohibits waivers when "entering" into the contract (such as an independent contractor agreement (or offer letter if it applies to employees).  This law will take effect because the Governor also signed AB 2634.

AB 26 and AB 2272 expand prevailing wage law.  Prevailing wage is an inflated minimum wage rate that must be paid to "public works" contracts.  These laws expand what are "public works" and what is included in the term "construction" among other things. If you have state contracts, please review these with your lawyers.

CA Governor Signs Two Wage-Hour Bills

Governor Jerry Brown signed a couple of wage-hour laws, which will take effect 1/1/15.  Neither is earth-shattering, but affected employers take note:

AB 2074, text here, clarifies California law regarding the statute of limitations for "liquidated damages," available for unpaid minimum wage claims.  The statute amends Labor Code section 1194.2 (here) to say that the statute of limitations for liquidated damages will be the same as the statute of limitations applicable to the underlying wage claim.  I'm not sure, but it may be that employers argued the statute of limitations is only 1 year because liquidated damages are a form of penalty.

AB 2743, text here, expands the availability of "waiting time penalties."  Per Labor Code section 203 (here), employers face a penalty of up to 30 days' pay when they do not pay employees correctly and timely at termination of employment.  Section 201.9 of the Labor Code allowed employers in the "live theatrical or concert" industry to pay final wages in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement. AB 2743 expands the availability of waiting time penalties to situations when the employer does not pay on time under that CBA.  So, employers not in the "live theatrical or concert" business:  Nothing to see here.