The Ninth Circuit Clarifies When California Law Applies to Employees With Remote Workplaces

In Bernstein v. Virgin America, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, 2021 WL 686281 (9th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the application of California wage-and-hour laws to employees who worked both within and outside of the state. Prior case law established that California's wage-and-hour laws apply to non-California residents when they perform work in the state of California. In Bernstein, the Ninth Circuit addressed the converse question. Specifically, the decision addressed whether certain California wage-and-hour laws applied to employees who spent the majority of their working hours outside of California.