Sandiegoemploymentattorney

Hi, today a case came out against UPS where the employee was awarded $27,280 and $696,162.78 in attorney's fees (approximately 26 times the damage award.) The 9th Circuit approved this fee award. This absurd result is a warning as to what can happend when the plaintiff does not have a very good case but the defendant has to pay anyway. Here's a link to the case if you want any more information. Read more: http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/LawDecisionCA.jsp

Slimy lawyers are gearing up to challenge unpaid internships over the summer. Therefore, I am posting this information if you want to establish a valid internship program. Employers need to establish the following six factors to have unpaid interns. (1) The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the employer’s facilities, is similar to training that would be given in school.... (2) The internship experience is for the benefit of the student. (3) The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under the close observation of a regular employee. (4) The employer provides the training and derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern. Occasionally, the operations may actually be impeded. (5) The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship. (6) The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time in the internship. It is really important that the internship provide the student with skills that can be used in multiple employment settings, as opposed to skills particular to one employer’s operation. This means the intern does not perform the routine work of the business on a regular and recurring basis, and the business is not dependent upon the work of the intern. In this circumstance, it is likely the Department of Labor would find the workers to be properly excluded from minimum wage and overtime requirements. However, if your company uses interns as substitutes for regular workers, or would have hired additional employees or required existing staff to work more hours had the interns not performed the work, these interns should be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime (if applicable). Unpaid internships in the public sector and for non-profit charitable organizations, where the intern volunteers without expectation of compensation, are generally permissible. It requires a fact-intensive analysis to determine whether a particular position qualifies as an unpaid internship under the law. Errors can be very costly.

I am attending the State Bar Summit in Long Beach. It is extremely informative and helpful.