What if you settle up with an employee for all wages due, but the employee gets a lawyer to sue for waiting time penalties alone in court? Well, the court of appeal just saved you a bunch of money.
In McCoy v. Superior Court (Kimco Staffing), the employee sued for waiting time penalties after receiving all wages due. The defendant argued that the applicable limitations period for penalties was one year. The plaintiff argued that the statute of limitations is the same as the underlying wages.
The court of appeal agreed with the employer. It is important to remember, though, that if the employee had sued for unpaid wages AND waiting time, the limitations period for the penalties would have been the same as applicable to the unpaid wage claims.
So, this case is an incentive to settled undisputed wage claims. Doing so may save the employer a lot of potential penalties.
DGV