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On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court ruled that premium payments owed for meal and rest period violations constituted “wages” that employers must report on employee wage statements, and that employers are required to pay to employees in a timely manner upon separation of employment.

Colorado recently substantially limited the use of non-competes for employees who work and live in Colorado.

On May 6, 2022, a federal court in the Central District of California granted partial summary judgment in favor of flight attendants suing United Airlines, Inc., for violating California’s state wage and hour laws. In Vidrio et al. v. United Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 15-CV-7985 PSG, (C.D. Cal. May 6, 2022), the plaintiff flight attendants alleged that United Airlines failed to give them the comprehensive “Wage Statement” required under California law.

A new law, amending New York’s civil rights law, requires private employers to notify employees of the employer’s practices relating to monitoring electronic communications at the time they are hired and through posting the information in a “conspicuous place.”

The Department of Labor recently recovered $624,000 in back wages for 92 restaurant workers in Charleston, South Carolina after finding minimum wage and overtime pay violations. Investigators found that the restaurant, 167 Raw, enforced an illegal tip pool by requiring the tipped employees to share tips with management and non-tipped employees.

Beginning November 1, 2022, a new salary transparency law which amends the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) will require most employers in New York City to list a salary range or hourly rate in all job advertisements. Although the law was originally scheduled to go into effect on May 15, 2022, as MSE previously reported, it will now become effective November 1.

In a recent ruling (Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., Appeal Nos. G058397, G058969 (Cal. App. 4th March 23, 2022), the California Court of Appeals further cemented a rule long recognized in the state that employees must be free to leave their employers’ premises during their meal periods.

The US Court of Federal Claims ruled that United Parcel Service retirees can advance their lawsuit against the federal government. The retirees sued the federal government over a 2014 pension law that authorized 29% cuts to their benefits; they claim that the cut is an unconstitutional governmental taking of property.

Courts continue to grapple with application of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act. MSE previously reported on litigation, which settled in September 2021, filed by workers alleging they were terminated without the notice required by the WARN Act at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manual workers working in New York state must be paid weekly and if they are not, they are entitled to receive liquidated damages for the late payment. For example, biweekly payments to manual workers violate New York state law and such workers can bring suit to recover liquidated damages.