Stokes Wagner Law Firm
Stokes Wagner

Historically, employers have not been on the hook for paying employees for time that was de minimis, or in other words, hard to capture in a time system and administratively difficult to record. However, that just changed with the decision in the California Supreme Court case, Troester v. Starbucks, Corp.

Read More...


If you are considering settling your employee’s workers’ compensation claim and hoping to avoid further litigation, be aware of the Adrian Camacho v. Target Corporation decision by California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal.

Read More...


Just last month, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into existence. GDPR is the legal framework establishing the guidelines for collection and processing of personal data of individuals in the European Union (“EU”) and the rights of the individuals with regard to such data. The GDPR requires businesses to be much more explicit about the information they maintain on people and to provide them with more control over that information. While European businesses may have been planning for the GDPR for some time, many U.S. companies are unprepared with no plans in place to comply. However, the long arm of the GDPR might apply to them.

Read More...


California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal-OSHA”) has approved new regulations to prevent workplace injuries to those working in the housekeeping and hospitality industry.

Read More...


The City of Los Angeles announced its Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage increase, which applies to hotels in the City of LA with 150 or more rooms.

Read More...


Today, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision holding that employers are not violating the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees to sign class action waivers in arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment. Rejecting the NLRB’s position that class waivers violate a workers’ right to engage in concerted action, the majority held that mandatory arbitration agreements, which bar employees from joining together in a class-action lawsuit to settle disputes over wages and working conditions, must be enforced.

Read More...


Determining whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or independent contractor can be difficult. California recently made this determination less challenging by providing a more rigid test.

Read More...


On January 18, 2018, California’s Department of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, approved a proposed regulation requiring hotel employers to maintain “an effective, written, musculoskeletal injury prevention program (MIPP) that addresses hazards specific to housekeeping.”

Read More...


In July 2016, Santa Monica enacted two minimum wage ordinances, one specific to hotel workers (the “Hotel Workers Living Wage Ordinance”), and the other to any employees of an employer in Santa Monica (“Minimum Wage Ordinance”).

Read More...


AB 450 – ICE Raids/Audits

April 30, 2018

Category: Legal Updates

California’s “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” (“AB 450”) went into effect on January 1, 2018. This Act prohibits California employers from allowing an ICE agent to search a worksite by an ICE agent without proper, legal documentation. Employers may not provide ICE agents access to employee records without a subpoena or warrant, with the exception of Form I-9’s and other documents for which the employer receives a Notice of Inspection.

Read More...