On February 7, 2011, the California Court of Appeal in Arechiga v. Dolores Press, Inc., ___ Cal. Rptr. 3d ___, 2011 WL 359350 (Cal. App. 2nd Dist., Feb. 7, 2011) ruled that an employer and employee may enter into an explicit wage agreement under which a non-exempt employee may receive a guaranteed fixed salary for all work (including overtime hours) so long as the employer pays the employee for all overtime wages at the correct premium rate.
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Court of Appeal Clarifies Standard for Wage Statement Violation under California Labor Law
By ROXANNA TABATABAEEPOUR, ESQ.

On January 20, 2011 the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District issued its ruling in Price v. Starbucks Corp., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1136 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2011). In upholding the lower court’s decision, the Court found, among other things, that Plaintiff’s claim of inaccurate wage statements under California Labor Code, section 226 was properly stricken from the complaint following a demurrer. Id. at *1. Section 226(a) provides that “every employer shall, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages furnish his or her employees” a statement including, among other things:
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There has been much debate over when a court’s decision on class issues is immediately appealable. The California Supreme Court originally adopted the “death knell doctrine” in Daar v. Yellow Cab Co., 67 Cal.2d 695 (1967), determining that any order terminating class claims such as orders denying class certification or sustaining demurrers to class claims are immediately appealable. However, courts have rendered differing opinions when the “death knell doctrine” requires plaintiffs to appeal orders sustaining demurrers to class claims when the order simultaneously sustained both the class’ and the named plaintiff’s claims in their entirety.
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