07/13/2015 // Keller Grover LLP // Eric Grover // (press release)
California Wage Lawyer Eric Grover Says – Proposed California Legislation Would Give Holiday Workers Double Pay
Los Angeles, CA—California workers may end up volunteering to work on Thanksgiving and Christmas if a proposed bill requiring employers to compensate workers with double pay on holidays is passed, reports Los Angeles wage and hour lawyer Eric Grover of the Keller Grover law firm.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales proposed the bill, which remains unnamed, to target big-box retailers but will also encompass restaurant workers and employees in other industries, reports the Sacramento Business Journal.
“There are millions of workers who have been forced to work on what have been traditional holidays,” Gonzalez said during a news conference in San Diego, as U-T San Diego reported. “Somebody has to stand up and say: ‘You have to be compensated fairly.’”
But the legislation would not include police, firefighters or medical providers, as they already receive triple pay for holidays through their union agreements.
At this time the proposed legislation only covers Thanksgiving and Christmas, but could include other holidays at a later date. Gonzales reportedly decided to cover Thanksgiving and Christmas because more and more employers are requiring employees to work on those traditionally family days.
“Gonzales has been a champion for employment rights.