November 6th, 2007 
James Peters Yesterday the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., ruling that employers may reimburse employee expenses in the form of “additional wages” payable in a “lump sum” instead of reimbursing each separate expense for the exact amount incurred.
This case deals with a scenario common to sales employees where the employer simply gives the employee a set automobile “allowance” or a “per diem” payment that is… Continue reading
February 19th, 2007 James Peters My employer pays me at one rate of pay for my regular work, but then pays me minimum wage for travel and attending seminars after-hours. How is my overtime supposed to be calculated?
A: Calculating overtime for an hourly employee who is paid at two separate hourly rates is a fairly complicated analysis and does not come up very often, but hopefully the explanation… Continue reading
Posted in Wages : Overtime 
Tags: California Employment Law, Commissions, Minimum Wage, Q&A, Wages : Overtime, Wages and Hours 
7 Comments » January 21st, 2007 James Peters Although this series on commissioned salespeople and overtime might not be the most exciting employment law topic, for those with large unpaid claims, it probably is the most exciting… Continue reading
January 21st, 2007 James Peters Even if you meet the criteria to be classified as “exempt” from overtime pay as a commissioned salesperson, the business your employer is engaged in can also automatically qualify you for overtime, regardless of how you are paid.
Commissioned salespeople can only be “exempt” if their employer is a “retail or service establishment”. Whether your employer qualifies is very complicated… Continue reading
January 18th, 2007 James Peters In order for an employee to qualify as “exempt” from overtime pay as a commissioned salesperson, the main test that must be met is the employee MUST make more than 50% of their wages in the form of “commissions”. This test is not as straightforward as it might sound at first.
What are “commissions”?
Many employees receive what their employers call “commissions” as part of their wages each pay period, but… Continue reading
January 18th, 2007 James Peters This is the first in a series of posts dealing specifically with the issue of commissioned salespeople and unpaid overtime. This is an area most employees, many employers, and even a large percentage of California attorneys do not understand correctly.
Top salespeople often make a very comfortable living and never even think about whether they are legally entitled to overtime pay.
Usually only salespeople who are wrongfully terminated or seek legal… Continue reading
January 17th, 2007 James Peters Employers, either through ignorance or intentionally, often make big mistakes in calculating overtime rates of pay for their employees and these often turn into big claims by the employees for unpaid wages later on.
To calculate an employee’s “overtime rate” of pay, you first have to calculate their “regular rate” of pay, which is the number multiplied by 1.5 to get an “overtime rate”… Continue reading
Posted in Wages : Overtime Tags: Bonuses, California Employment Law, Commissions, Wages : Overtime, Wages and Hours No Comments » January 11th, 2007 James Peters On January 1, 2007, California increased its minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 per hour.
Putting aside the fact that an extra 75 cents for each hour worked really has no effect on people’s lives (just $1,560 per year before taxes), there are some “side effects” of this increase employees should be aware of.
Background
Under California law, the presumption is that all employees must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their hourly Continue reading
December 31st, 2006 James Peters My employer terminated me today (December 31, 2006). I was supposed to receive a $10,000 performance bonus for 2006, but one of the terms of my bonus agreement says that I have to be employed on January 1, 2007 to get my bonus. The company is not doing very well and I think I was actually terminated so that they did not have to pay me… Continue reading
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