Employee Amber Morgan (Morgan) filed a class action lawsuit against her former employer, United Retail Incorporated (United Retail), for violations of Labor Code section 226.

Labor Code section 226(a) provides, in pertinent part:

Every employer shall, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, furnish each of his or her employees, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee’s wages, or separately when wages are paid by personal check or cash,
an accurate itemized statement in writing showing:

(1) gross wages earned,
(2) total hours worked by the employee, except for any employee whose compensation is solely based on a salary and who is exempt from payment of overtime under subdivision (a) of Section 515 or any applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission,
(3) the number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis,
(4) all deductions, provided that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item,
(5) net wages earned,
(6) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid,
(7) the name of the employee and his or her social security number, except that by January 1, 2008, only the last four digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other than a social security number may be shown on the itemized statement,
(8) the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer, and
(9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee.

On behalf of a class of herself and current and former non-exempt employees, Morgan alleged that United Retail’s wage statements failed to comply with section 226, subdivision (a) because they listed the total number of regular hours and the total number of overtime hours worked by the employee, but did not list the sum of the regular and overtime hours worked in a separate line. Morgan alleged that the separate line was required by Labor Code section 226(a)(2).

The trial court disagreed and dismissed the section 226 claims. The appellate court concluded that the trial court properly dismissed the claims because United Retail’s wage statements complied with the statutory requirements of section 226 by “showing . . . total hours worked.” The Court reasoned, in part, that the plain language of the statute did not specifically require two separate lines and that the paystubs used by United Retail provided the employees with the essential information for verifying that they were being paid for all hours worked. Morgan v. United Retail Incorporated (July 2010).

While the employer prevailed in this case, the case is a reminder of the strict requirements of Labor Code section 226. Employers must be sure that each and every paystub contains all of the required information to avoid liability. If you have any questions about this case, or other wage and hour issues, please feel free to contact Susan E. Bishop

No matter what type of business you are preparing to start, one of the first decisions you need to make is what you’re going to name your business. Choosing a name is often something that business owners don’t realize needs more research than just finding a name that is memorable and will appeal to both them and their clients.

 Why go to all this effort?

You’re opening your business with plans of success, knowing you will be investing yourself, your time, and your effort into growing your business. Generally, you won’t be notified of any disputes related to your name until your business has grown and become successful, after you have spent time and energy getting your name known. Don’t lose this valuable piece of your business when it really means something to you because you didn’t research whether you could use it at the beginning. Trademark litigation is costly; a search determining whether you name will be rightfully yours is not.

 1. Type and Scope of Your Business

 The type and scope of your business will normally define how much work needs to be put into research surrounding your proposed business name. For example, if your new business is going to be the local diner branding your name, with no plans to expand outside your neighborhood, that should justify sticking to just your city and county. If you’re planning on selling party supply goods through a mail-order or internet catalogue, that may call for a full scale search of local and national usage since you’re be selling nationally.

At a minimum, your search should include every county in which you plan to do business. At the other end, your search may end up involving a complex multi-jurisdictional search of other business names in various jurisdictions of trademarked or protected intellectual property interests.

 2. Fictitious Business Names Registries

If your business is going to be a local one, check the fictitious business name registry with the county clerk for each county your business is likely to do business in. This includes counties you may expand to if your business will be a success. I do not know of any integrated database that has listings of fictitious business names for every county; a search must be done on a county-by-county basis.

 3. Business Name Search with the Secretary of State

The California Secretary of State maintains a listing of certain business names. You can check their website with their search function to see if there is already a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership or limited liability partnership with a name that is confusingly similar to what you are hoping to use. Picking a name that is confusingly similar to another registered name may lead to a protracted tradename dispute down the line.

 4. Federal and State Registrations

Filing a fictitious business name required by California Business & Professions Code Section 17910 establishes a rebuttable presumption that the registrant has the exclusive right to use that name as a trade name in the county where the statement was filed.

What happens when there are two of you using a similar name? If you have a fictitious business name registration (a “dba”) and there is a corporation or limited liability company in the same county with a name similar to yours, whichever one filed first and is actually engaged in a trade or business using the name is entitled to the presumption of priority against the other.

 5. Specific Entity Name Requirements

 If I’m not a corporation, can I put an “Inc.” or “Incorporation” or “Corp.” or “Corporation” after my name?

 No. You’re not allowed to use a name that may be confusing to the general public.

 What about “LLC” or “Limited Liability Company” for my sole proprietorship?

 No. Only a limited liability company can use “LLC” or “Limited Liability Company” or “L.L.C.”

 You’re not allowed to pick a name for your business that will end up confusing people who look at your business name.

6. Reserve Your Business Name if There Will be a Delay in Filing Your Formation Documents

Reserving your name with the Secretary of State is a simple and inexpensive matter. Ideally, when you decide on a name after conducting the research I’ve described above, you should go through the effort of reserving with the Secretary of State. If you anticipate doing business in states other than California, reserve your name there as well.  The Secretary of State will issue a certificate of reservation which should provide sufficient time to finish your business formation.

 7. Will a Fictitious Business Name Statement Be Required?

A fictitious business name statement must be filed with the county clerk if you are regularly doing business under a fictitious business name (or a “dba”). You can file a fictitious business name statement in the county that your business has its principal place of business, within 40 days of the date you first began conducting business under that name. You may also wish to file a fictitious business name statement in other counties where you will transact business now and in the future.  Once you filed the fictitious business name statement with the county clerk, you must publish the name with a newspaper in the same county within 30 days of filing the statement, once a week for 4 consecutive weeks, with five days between each date of publication. Most metropolitan areas have papers that do this for a nominal sum. Afterwards, you must file an affidavit of publication with the county clerk within 30 days after completing your publication run. A fictitious business name statement will expire five years after the date you first filed it in the county recorder’s office, at which point you’ll need to refile.

If you are a small business owner with consistent legal needs, our Virtual In-House Counsel services are a cost-effective option for your business.  You can have the benefits of an in-house legal team, without the expense and overhead.

We will manage your legal affairs so that you can concentrate on running your business.  We provide personalized and responsive legal advice that may be customized and adapted to the issues your company is facing.

This service is set up on a quarterly payment basis.  You can receive continual access to an attorney and still stay within a predetermined budget.  Signing up for the Virtual In-House Counsel service will allow you to receive legal advice at a 25% discounted block rate for anything from transactional matters, contract review and drafting, risk management, and litigation strategy.

This flexible approach allows us to combine traditional legal services that keep a business owner’s budget in mind.  It allows you to have an attorney familiar with your business, who is just a phone call or email away.  Our attorneys are well-versed in varied areas of law, including:

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If you are interested in learning more about this service and whether it would be a good fit for your small business, please contact us at (408) 369-0800.

Elena Rivkin Franz, attorney and counselor-at-law, is licensed to practice in all California court and the United State District Court of Northern California. During law school, she was a judicial extern for Judge James Ware of the Federal District Court in the San Jose Division.

To lean more about Elena’s specialties of law, please view her profile under attorneys. If you would like to speak with Elena, please call 408-369-0800.

If you would like to speak to one of our attorneys specializing in this area of law, please call us at 408-369-0800 or click on “contact” to send us an email message. We look forward to hearing from you.