Bob Tollen Quoted in Daily Labor Report
"Wage & Hour : Three-Year Limit on Meal and Rest Claims, California Supreme Court Rules in 7-0 Vote"

The April 17, 2007 Daily Labor Report notes in "Wage & Hour : Three-Year Limit on Meal and Rest Claims, California Supreme Court Rules in 7-0 Vote": "In one of the most closely watched wage cases in the state, a unanimous California Supreme Court ruled April 16 that an employee pursuing state law claims for meals and break periods missed during his employment with Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. had three years to file a claim for the "additional hour of pay" remedy provided in the California Labor Code, (Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Prods. Inc., Cal., No. S140308, 4/16/07). Writing for the court, Justice Carlos R. Moreno said that the language, purpose, and legislative history of the additional pay provision convinced the court that the provision was a form of wages subject to a three-year statute of limitations, rather than a penalty subject to a one-year filing limit under California law. Reversing a state appellate court, the justices also held that an employee whose claims were considered by the state labor commissioner could raise related wage law allegations in court even though they were not presented to the labor commissioner. Kenneth Cole counsel Robert W. Tollen, with Seyfarth Shaw in Los Angeles, said the liability for employers will now be "millions and millions and millions'' of dollars. Tollen--who represented Kenneth Cole--said most employers know that they are required to give meal and rest periods to nonexempt employees, "and they do. That's not where the problems come up. It's not as if you have a lot of employers out there violating the law and failing to give meal and rest periods to nonexempt employees.'' Most employers are cautious in part because of liability issues about classifying workers as exempt or nonexempt, according to Tollen. The decision and enhanced liability possibly could lead employers "to lean over backwards and not classify employees as exempt even when the employer thinks they legitimately should be,'' he said.