Author Archives: Gabrielle Wirth

About Gabrielle Wirth

Employers turn to Gabrielle for guidance on how they can comply with the technical employment laws in California, Montana and nationwide while meeting their business needs. Her successful trial experience in a broad range of employment disputes includes wage and hour, whistleblower, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, and trade secret/noncompetition cases. She also represents employers before a wide variety of state and federal agencies including the EEOC, OFCCP, state human rights agencies, the Labor Commission, the Employment Development Department and OSHA.

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Quirky Question #241, Working for Free In Montana At A Start-Up Business

September 26, 2014 by Stephen Bell & Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

I was laid off by my Montana employer and I have decided to help my brother with his start up business. I will be a 50% owner but we are not going to take a salary until revenue is substantial. An accountant friend tells me that my work for free for the start-up may disqualify me for the unemployment benefits I am currently receiving. This cannot be right. I have paid into the unemployment system for years and I am not receiving any wages. Answer→

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Labor Law, Montana Law, Unemployment Benefits

Quirky Question # 239, Employers Might Be Liable For Accidents During The Commute If They Require Employees To Use Their Vehicle During The Work Day

August 11, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

Our office manager occasionally runs errands during the day such as delivering something to a customer or picking up lunch for a meeting. We reimburse her at the IRS rate for mileage. Yesterday, on her way home, she rear-ended the car in front of her causing substantial damage. She has asked for the company’s insurance information. We told her the company is not liable because we are not liable for anything that happens during her normal commute. Are we on solid ground? We are in California. Answer→

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions

Quirky Question # 225, California Law Is Not Going to Pieces

March 31, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth & Dorsey & Whitney

Question:

We are located in California and would like to change to a piece-rate system where we pay non-exempt employees a set amount for completed tasks. I understand that this is referred to as paying for a “piece-rate” and it is legal as long as the employee is compensated at least at the minimum wage for all hours worked. Is this correct? Answer→

POSTED IN California Questions

Quirky Question # 224, The De Minimis Defense to Off the Clock Work Claims

March 31, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

We have an employee who is claiming that he should be paid for time cleaning up his work station after logging out of our electronic time keeping system each night. Literally, he spends one or two minutes straightening his piles of paper and on other trivial similar tasks. Another company HR representative said that every minute an employee spends on any tasks must be paid for. We have offices on the West Coast including California. Do we really have to pay him for this time? Answer→

POSTED IN California Questions, Wage and Hour Issues

Quirky Question # 222, Seats in the Workplace

February 28, 2014 by Jessica Linehan & Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

We are a retail store. An employee in the warehouse requested an assigned chair to sit on when he is between tasks. Must we comply with this request in our California locations? Answer→

POSTED IN California Questions

Quirky Question # 221, San Francisco Ordinance: Flexible Work Schedule

February 27, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

We have a part-time employee in San Francisco, CA who works Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. as support for our sole salesperson in the Bay Area. She has recently requested to alter her schedule to work only 3 days a week. I know there was a new San Francisco law about flexible schedules but we only have two employees in San Francisco so I am sure we are not covered by this law. Correct? Answer→

POSTED IN California Questions

Quirky Question #220, Independent Contractors

January 31, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

I have always understood that California employers that misclassify workers as independent contractors face potential liability, including compensatory damages, penalties and attorney’s fees. I recently heard a news broadcast that mentioned there were cases suggesting that recent court decisions have approved the use of independent contractors in California. Is that true and what are the takeaways? Answer→

POSTED IN California Questions, Independent Contractors

Quirky Question #219, Is Unemployment Status a Protected Category?

January 30, 2014 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

We recently interviewed an applicant with a very spotty resume; there were repeated gaps in his employment history which were apparent from his resume. He was not hired and called HR to complain that it is illegal for us to consider his unemployment status. Is there a new law on this subject? Answer→

POSTED IN Background Checks, Hiring

Quirky Question #217, Bereavement Leave in Colorado and Oregon

December 31, 2013 by Stephen Bell & Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

An employee in our Corporate Office recently informed Human Resources that she was requesting bereavement leave with respect to her sister’s death last month. When she was informed of our company policy, that up to 3 days of paid time off may be taken to attend the funeral, she said her attorney friend told her a new law requires two weeks. I’ve never heard of this law? Answer→

POSTED IN Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Leave Issues

Quirky Question #216, Use of a Photograph of a Former Employee

December 30, 2013 by Gabrielle Wirth

Question:

A junior member of our marketing department left to join a competitor. While she was with us, she created numerous marketing brochures with photographs of her demonstrating our product. We received a letter from the competitor demanding that we remove her picture from our brochures and website and delete her name on any company materials. It would be very expensive to redo all of our marketing materials, can we ignore her request? Answer→

POSTED IN Privacy Rights

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Dorsey is a business law firm with more than 550 attorneys across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Our lawyers regularly handle every sort of employment matter, litigated and non-litigated. We have extensive, successful trial experience (including class and collective actions), as well as an outstanding record for obtaining summary judgments. Dorsey also has broad experience in advising, counseling, compliance and development, policy handbook review, training and other measures that can greatly reduce the likelihood of litigation or governmental enforcement actions.

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