California Employment Law Applies to Some Remote Workers

Two recent decisions in federal court clarified when California wage and hour laws apply to remote workers that may not spend 100% of their working time in the state. There are many employees in California whose work takes them out of state on a regular basis, and if this applies to you or people you know, it is critical to understand what rights you have under state law. If you would like to learn more about whether California wage and hour laws or any other employment laws apply to your workplace legal issue, talk to an experienced employment law attorney in your area today.

Bernstein v. Virgin America, Inc.

In the Bernstein case, the federal court was asked to decide whether California wage and hour laws applied to California residents when they work outside of the state for the majority of their working hours. In this case, around 25% of Virgin Airlines’ flights were between airports in California, and around 75% of Virgin’s flights took off or landed at a non-California airport; however, the majority of flights for the airline retained some connection to the state. The lower court had certified a class action case for airline workers of Virgin Airlines who worked in California for approximately 31.5% of their working hours for wage and hour claims against the company. Virgin Airlines disputed that California wage and hour law applied in the case.

The Court of Appeals held that California law did apply to some of the class claims. Specifically, state law applied to their class meal and rest claims in addition to their claims for wage statement violations and waiting time penalties. The court found that although the workers on average only spent 31.5% of their working time in California, none of the employees in the class spent more than 50% of their time working in any other state, and no employee spent more time working in any other state than California. As such, these workers were considered California employees.

However, it is important to note that the court also found in this case that the company was not subject to heightened penalties for any wage and hour violations under the Private Attorney General Act in California. This is because no prior case or authority had found that employees who worked the majority of their hours outside of the state were subject to California’s wage and hour laws, and therefore the employer could not be found liable for violations that occurred before it knew that it was subject to those laws.

Call or Contact a Lawyer Today

If you believe that you have a valid wage or hour claim against your employer in California, or any other type of employment law claim as an employee, an experienced employment law attorney should be able to help. Call or contact one in your area today to schedule a consultation and learn more about your legal options.