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Class Actions, Legal Procedure Richard Hoyer Class Actions, Legal Procedure Richard Hoyer

Class Rights of Taxi Drivers in Oakland, California

Oakland City Ordinance 5.64.040(d)(1)) unequivocally states that: “Fleet managers shall provide to drivers receipts for all fees collected from said drivers.”Oakland Municipal Code 5.64.040(C) states:Fleet management permittees are required to maintain for a period of not less than one year all records pertaining to the fleet manager's operation and management, including but not limited to all waybills completed by drivers, all dispatch logs, all vehicle inspection records, driver training records, passenger complaints, citation records, leasing records, and insurance records. Fleet managers shall make available for inspection, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., all such records. Fleet managers shall take reasonable efforts to ensure the completeness and accuracy of all records. Any records which are determined to be inadequate, inaccurate, or any request which is not complied with may result in the suspension or revocation of the fleet management permit pursuant to Section 5.64.080.

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Determining Employment Status in California

“The California Supreme Court has developed a multi-factor test for determining employment status.” Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp. (9th Cir. 2011) 667 F.3d 1318, 1324, quoting S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Dept. of Indust. Rel. (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341 (“Borello”).  “[U]nder California law, once a plaintiff comes forward with evidence that he provided services for an employer, the employee has established a prima facie case that the relationship was one of employer/employee.” Narayan v. EGL, Inc. (9th Cir. 2010) 616 F.3d 895, 900, citing Robinson v. George, (1940) 16 Cal.2d 238, 243-244. “Once the employee establishes a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the employer, which may prove, if it can, that the presumed employee was an independent contractor.” Id. (citation omitted).Under California law, primary test of an employment relationship is whether “the person to whom service is rendered has the right to control the manner and means of accomplishing the result desired….” Borello, supra, at 350. While the right to control work details is the most important factor, there are also “’secondary’ indicia of the nature of a service arrangement.” Id. These secondary factors, principally derived from the Rest.2d Agency, include

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Arbitration, Class Actions, Legal Procedure Richard Hoyer Arbitration, Class Actions, Legal Procedure Richard Hoyer

Motion to Compel Arbitration

The FAA provides, that a "written provision in any...contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy...shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of the contract." 9 U.S.C. § 2. In order to opt out of the FAA, a controlling state arbitration law must be specified in the agreement. See, e.g. Wolsey, Ltd. v. Foodmaker, Inc., 144 F.3d 1205, 1209 (9th Cir. 1998) ("In other words, parties are free to contract around the FAA by incorporating state arbitration rules into their agreements.").

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"On-Duty" Meal Periods

The Labor Code affords employees a right to off-duty meal breaks, not just permission to eat while on-duty. The applicable Wage Order requires employers to provide every non-exempt employee who works more than five hours with daily “off duty meal periods,” consisting of an uninterrupted 30-minute period during which the employee is relieved of all duty. Wage Order 4-2001, 8 C.C.R. § 11040(11), reads as follows:"No employer shall employ any person for a work period of more than five (5) hours without a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that when a work period of not more than six (6) hours will complete the day’s work the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee. Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during a 30 minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an “on duty” meal period and counted as time worked."

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