Author: Ruth Silver Taube (Ruth Silver Taube)

Silver Taube: State lawmakers must take action to combat wage theft in care homes

Residential care facilities for the elderly receive among the largest wage theft judgments of any industry, according to Matthew Sirolly, a staff attorney with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office who advises the agency on how to enforce wage theft judgments. These judgments are meaningless unless they are enforced. Residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), often...

Silver Taube: New laws in 2023 advance workers’ rights

This column is my end of year summary of important new employment laws coming in 2023. California is at the forefront of groundbreaking laws. This year is no exception. AB 257—Fast-Food Council that sets industry standards The bill creates a state Fast-Food Council that will establish sector-wide minimum standards on wages, hours and working conditions...

Silver Taube: California must lead on retaliation reforms to dismantle workplace inequality

Retaliation against workers who speak up when they have had their workplace rights violated through wage theft, sexual harassment or other unlawful abuses is prevalent in California. It functions to undercut all of California’s labor laws, turning our strong, clear legal standards into an inconsistent mess in the reality of workplace interactions. Retaliation takes many...

Silver Taube: The restaurant industry wants to halt a law giving fast-food workers a seat at the table

On Labor Day, Gov. Gavin Newson signed the landmark bill, AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, into law. The law will establish a 10-member council with four seats held by fast-food franchisor and franchisee representatives, four seats held by fast-food worker representatives and advocates and two seats held by representatives of the Department of Industrial Relations...

Silver Taube: Employers fail to provide lactation accommodations

On July 28, Amazon warehouse worker Fernanda Torres filed a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to provide lactation accommodations in violation of the law. Torres alleged Amazon’s breastfeeding workers are forced to take unpaid breaks to pump milk and risk discipline for not meeting quotas. She also alleged breastfeeding workers often wait in...

Silver Taube: Palo Alto janitorial workers shed light on wage theft

Allegations of wage theft loom over Palo Alto as several janitors who clean the city’s facilities have filed at least $23,000 in wage claims, not including penalties. The janitors filed claims with the Labor Commission against the city’s janitorial services vendor, SWA Services Group, a non-union company. These troubling allegations highlight the failure of one...

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