Cal-Peculiarities: How California Employment Law is Different 2022 Edition

368 | 2022 Cal-Peculiarities ©2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP  www.seyfarth.com 45 Lab. Code § 2699.5. 46 Lab. Code § 2699(f)(2). 47 Lopez v. Friant & Assocs., LLC , 15 Cal. App. 5th 773, 784 (2017) (reversing summary judgment to employer; “Because section 226(e)(1) sets forth the elements of a private cause of action for damages and statutory penalties, its requirement that a plaintiff demonstrate ‘injury’ resulting from a ‘knowing and intentional’ violation of section 226(a) is not applicable to a PAGA claim for recovery of civil penalties.”). See also Raines v. Coastal Pac. Food Distributors, Inc. , 23 Cal. App. 5th 667, 676-77, 679-80, 681 (2018) (reversing summary judgment to employer on PAGA claim; where wage statement shows overtime hours and total overtime payment, plaintiff could use simple arithmetic to derive the missing hourly rate, satisfying the statutory exception to the “deemed to suffer injury” provision that applies where “a reasonable person would be able to readily ascertain the information without reference to other documents or information”; by contrast, PAGA has no “injury” requirement and so plaintiff could proceed with her PAGA claim though a “trial court has discretion in awarding civil penalties and may reduce the award for technical violations that cause no injury”). 48 Heritage Residential Care, Inc. v. Division of Labor Standards Enforcement , 192 Cal. App. 4th 75 (2011) (“inadvertent” is not defined in the statute, it should receive its “plain and commonsense meaning”—unintentional, accidental, or not deliberate). 49 Raines v. Coastal Pac. Food Distribs., Inc. , 23 Cal. App. 5th 667, 674-75 (2018) (reversing summary judgment to employer on PAGA claim) (emphasis in original). 50 Id . at 675. 51 Gunther v. Alaska Airlines, Inc. , 72 Cal. App. 5th 334 (2021). 52 DLSE Opinion Letter 2006.07.06. 53 Lab. Code § 226(a) (“a copy of the [wage] statement and the record of the deductions shall be kept on file by the employer for at least three years at the place of employment or at a central location within the State of California”). 54 Lab. Code § 226(a). 55 SB 1252, amending Lab. Code § 226. 56 Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC, 5 Cal. App. 5th 154, 174, 183 (2016) (reversing dismissal of complaint in part), rev. granted , No. S238941 (Cal. Feb. 15, 2016). 57 Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC , 6 Cal. 5th 817 (2019) (affirming dismissal of complaint as to payroll company on causes of action for breach of contract, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation). 58 Id. at 821. 59 Id. at 841. 60 Corp. Code § 1502.1(a)(4). 61 Lab. Code § 431. 62 Sample language might be: NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES (Required by the California Earned Income Tax Credit Information Act, as amended in 2016 by AB 1847. Your eligibility for EITC depends on your personal circumstances. This notice is not tax advice.) Based on your annual earnings, you may be eligible to receive the earned income tax credit from the federal government (federal eitc). The federal eitc is a refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. The federal eitc has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, federal eitc payments will not be used to determine eligibility for medicaid, supplemental security income, food stamps, low-income housing, or most temporary assistance for needy families payments. Even if you do not owe federal taxes, you must file a federal tax return to receive the federal eitc. Be sure to fill out the federal eitc form in the federal income tax return booklet. For information regarding your eligibility to receive the federal eitc, including information on how to obtain the irs notice 797 or any other necessary forms and instructions, contact the internal revenue service by calling 1-800-829-3676 or through its web site at www.irs.gov . You also may be eligible to receive the california earned income tax credit (california eitc) starting with the calendar year 2015 tax year. The california eitc is a refundable state income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. The california eitc is treated in the same manner as the federal eitc and generally will not be used to determine eligibility for welfare benefits under california law. To claim the california eitc, even if you do not owe california taxes, you must file a california income tax return and complete and attach the california eitc form (ftb 3514). For information on the availability of the credit, eligibility requirements, and how to obtain the necessary california forms and get help filing, contact the franchise tax board at 1-800-852-5711 or through its web site a t www.ftb.ca.gov. (visited Mar. 20, 2022).