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On December 31, 2014, the California Supreme Court held in Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc. (Case No. S212704) that security guards who work shifts of 24 or more hours under Wage Order 4 must be compensated for their sleep time.  The Court also held that, under the particular facts of the case, the security guards were required to be paid for their “on-call” time.
Continue Reading The California Supreme Court Holds That Certain Security Guards Must Be Paid to Sleep

On January 20, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision plainly reminding employers of the importance of precisely drafting employment documents.  In the case of In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 2015 WL 247403 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 20, 2015), the Court held that a prospective employee, who had never worked a day at Lehman Brothers Inc. (“LBI”), was not entitled to a $350,000 performance bonus detailed in an offer letter which LBI rescinded.  Significantly, in reaching this conclusion, the Court relied exclusively upon its reading of the offer letter itself.
Continue Reading New York Court Finds That Plaintiff Who Never Worked a Day For Company Is Not Entitled To A $350,000 Performance Bonus

Best Practices for Competitive Compensation Systems and Practical Solutions to Avoid Costly Employee Lawsuits

The mortgage industry is currently at risk for serious legal liability based on the growing number of employee claims for compensation. Your industry has been targeted by employees and their lawyers, and is now facing an avalanche of lawsuits, wage claims, and class actions regarding compensation issues. Moreover, recent CFPB regulations will require employers to make substantial changes to their basic compensation systems.

These lawsuits often seek millions of dollars in wages, overtime, meal/rest period penalties, commissions, expenses, and attorney’s fees, even for the most insignificant technical violations. Many of the larger mortgage companies have already been hit, and now plaintiffs’ lawyers are starting to burn through the smaller ones as well.

This seminar is specifically designed to assist employers in the mortgage industry in identifying specific areas of concern, including the hot spots for wage and hour litigation. Most importantly, we will offer practical solutions on best practices for employee compensation, as well as how you can comply with the law, avoid these costly lawsuits, and still run a competitive and thriving business.Continue Reading Compensation Crisis in the Mortgage Industry

This breakfast briefing will cover recent developments in and best practices for drafting executive level employment agreements. In particular, this program will address the importance of properly constructed “for cause” and “good reason” severance triggers. In addition, the panel will cover employee mobility issues and apply “lessons learned” for drafting enforceable restrictive covenants, such as non-competes, non-solicits and confidentiality provisions.

The panelists will discuss the latest developments in arbitration agreements and class action waivers.

The program will also focus on new employment laws in China, Mexico and France, as well as providing an overview on employment laws related to hiring and firing outside of the US.Continue Reading What Keeps You Up at Night? An in-depth discussion of developments and hot topics in domestic and international labor and employment law

Today’s is an ever-changing global world. In some sense, all companies are global, from having websites accessible by persons overseas, to procuring from or selling products to foreign entities, to engaging employees or independent contractors. U.S. companies that rely on global talent must be cognizant of the ever increasing compliance requirements and subsequent enforcement actions.

This breakfast briefing will offer insights on international employment and immigration law. The program will cover the do’s and don’ts of hiring and firing employees outside of the United States from an employment law perspective, as well as hiring and firing of foreign workers in the United States from an immigration compliance perspective.Continue Reading Employing a Global Workforce: What Keeps You Up at Night?

2013 has ushered in significant developments in labor and employment law of which employers should be aware. At our upcoming seminars, Sheppard Mullin labor and employment attorneys will discuss these important new cases and answer your questions. We will explain how these developments will affect the day-to-day decisions made by business owners, in-house counsel, and human resource professionals. We will also address the current trends in employment litigation and class actions, and discuss how employers can manage risk in the most effective way possible. Please join our experienced attorneys for an informative and lively discussion regarding recent activity in the following areas:Continue Reading Breakfast With Your Labor Lawyer – Spring 2013

Immigration Perspectives

Sheppard Mullin’s Global Immigration and Compliance and Corporate Securities groups present: U.S. Immigration for Investors and Entrepreneurs

Immigrants historically have contributed to some of America’s most successful businesses and innovation. However, navigating the labyrinth of U.S. immigration laws has been difficult, for even the best and brightest. While Congress gears up to tackle comprehensive immigration reform the administration continues its efforts to promote the entrepreneurial spirit of many immigrants within the existing framework. Most recently, USCIS developed and launched the Entrepreneur Pathways web portal, which aims to close the information gap between USCIS and the entrepreneurial community.Continue Reading U.S. Immigration for Investors and Entrepreneurs

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Presented by Jason Kearnaghan, Partner, Sheppard Mullin

Please join Sheppard Mullin for our monthly webinar series educating entrepreneurs and emerging companies on the key legal issues they face during the growth of their companies. These complimentary 1-hour webinars are held through WebEx on the third Thursday of the month at noon. They will have both an audio and PowerPoint component. Please join us for our next webinar on November 15th!Continue Reading Employment Basics for Start-Ups: Third Thursday Emerging Company Webinars

In recent months there have been several significant developments in the law of which employers should be aware. At our upcoming seminars, Sheppard Mullin labor and employment attorneys will discuss these important new cases and answer your questions. We will explain how these developments will affect the day-to-day decisions made by business owners, in-house counsel and human resource professionals. We will also address the current trends in employment litigation and class actions, and discuss how employers can manage risk in the most effective way possible.Continue Reading Labor and Employment Law Update and Happy Hour Fall 2012