On September 24, 2019 the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule updating the earnings threshold necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime pay requirements and allows employers to count...

As we reported previously, the California Supreme Court, on April 30, 2018, ruled in the Dynamex v. Superior Court case that to properly classify a worker as an independent contractor, as opposed to a W-2 employee, they must meet the strict new “ABC” test.  Recently...

On August 30, 2019 Governor Newsom signed legislation (SB 778) which extends the deadline to complete the anti-harassment training from January 1, 2020 until January 1, 2021. The bill also provides clarification on the timing of retraining requirements for employees...

On July 3, 2019 California became the first state to ban workplace and school discrimination against the wearing of hairstyles such as braids, twists and locks when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 188.  This new legislation aims to create a respectful and open...

The next phase of the minimum wage increase, for many local jurisdictions, will take effect on July 1, 2019.  If your business is located, or if your employees perform work, in certain local jurisdictions you must comply with the minimum wage for your city or county...

New California Family Rights Pregnancy Disability & New Parent Leave Poster Requirement- April 1, 2019 The Department of Fair Employment and Housing has updated its poster on the California Family Rights Act and Pregnancy Disability Leave to include information about...

In a recent California Court of Appeal decision, the Court held that employees scheduled for “on-call” or “call-in” shifts may be entitled to “reporting time pay” even if the employee does not physically report to work. Summary of the Facts The employer, Tilly’s, is a...

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) publishes posters that provide information to employers and employees pertaining to California’s civil rights laws. These posters must be displayed in the workplace. The DFEH also publishes several brochures and...

In a follow-up to our newsletter following Governor Brown’s signing of many new employment law bills, the below summarizes some of the additional new pieces of legislation impacting employers in 2019. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS - AN UPDATE The law relating to independent...

As a reminder, effective January 1, 2019, the state of California and many local cities and counties will have the next step in their minimum wages increase. Below is a summary of these increases. STATE OF CALIFORNIA The State’s minimum wage will increase as of...

As the holiday season approaches and as we look forward to celebrating with our friends and colleagues, employers must keep in mind the "do's and don't's" of office holiday parties. With some careful planning employers can avoid or minimize the post-holiday party...

NEW PROTECTIONS AGAINST NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION The California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) recently issued new regulations that provide a more detailed definition of “national origin” and “national origin groups”. The new regulations also set...

RECENTLY PASSED LEGISLATION DEFAMATION SUITS & SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS Governor Brown has recently signed Assembly Bill 2770 entitled Privileged Communications: communications by former employer: sexual harassment. AB 2770 (Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks). This bill takes...

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE REMINDER As a reminder to California employers, the next phase of the minimum wage increase, for many local jurisdictions, took effect on July 1, 2018. If your business or employees are located in certain local jurisdictions you must comply with...

INTERNS...TO BE OR NOT TO BE ... PAID As the summer months approach, many students will begin looking for work and some will offer to work for free as an “unpaid” intern, to gain experience in their chosen field.  Employers beware as there are very few instances in...

THE NEW “ABC’S” OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS As California employers are well aware, the issue of whether a worker is properly classified as an “employee” or an “independent contractor” has long been a concern.  Misclassification can lead to potential legal...

E-Verify is a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees by electronically matching information...

IMMIGRANT WORKER PROTECTION ACT RESTRICTS IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AT WORKSITES In 2017, Governor Brown signed the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (IWPA) which took effect on January 1, 2018. IWPA was California’s response to the anticipated increase in federal...

Employee Benefits for Small Employers:  Your Questions Answered By: Marilyn A. Monahan is the owner of Monahan Law Office in Marina del Rey. Small businesses often have questions about the types of health and welfare benefits they can offer to their employees (or to...

The Adult Use Of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) (the Act) provides that public and private employers are allowed to enact and enforce workplace policies pertaining to marijuana and are allowed to maintain a drug and alcohol-free workplace. Proposition 64 provides that...

The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) (aka the Labor Commissioner) recently issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) memo regarding rest breaks and lactation accommodation. Click here for a link to the FAQs.    Rest Breaks: California...

In July, 2017, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) regulations were amended to expand protections for transgender rights in the workplace.  The additional protections included making it unlawful for an employer: to discriminate against an...

BAN THE BOX UPDATE Most employment application forms have an inquiry requiring applicants to disclose information about their prior criminal convictions before the employer even considers the applicant. The City of Los Angeles implemented a "ban the box" law earlier...

Minimum Wage Increase - Effective January 1, 2018 As a reminder to California employers, the next phase of the minimum wage increase shall take effect January 1, 2018. Businesses should start to review their pay practices now to ensure timely compliance with the...

TWO IMPORTANT NEW BILLS IMPACT CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS Just before the October 15th deadline, Governor Brown signed many new pieces of legislation, many of which will have significant impact on California small businesses. We highlight two of the recent bills here. The...

USCIS FORM I-9 NEW FORM EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 As a reminder, the USCIS has updated the Form I-9 and Employers must begin using the new form effective today, September 18, 2017.  The new form has a revision date of "0/7/17/17 N". Another significant change is...

DACA Update: Work Re-Verification Not Required The State of California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), has issued a news release following the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The LWDA has taken the position...

DFEH ISSUES WORKPLACE HARASSMENT GUIDE FOR CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS On May 2, 2017 the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) issued a guide for California employers on preventing, addressing and correcting claims of sexual harassment in the workplace. The guide...

In this update we address the recent publication of a new I-9 form and revised wage orders. USCIS Releases a Revised Form I-9 WAGE ORDERS UPDATED USCIS PUBLISHES NEW I-9 FORM The US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) released a revised version of Form I-9,...

If employers thought that summer was a time to relax, think again. California has enacted several more items of legislation which take effect on July 1st. So, in addition to the minimum wage increase we discussed in our last article, the new laws going into effect on...

LOS ANGELES INCREASES PAID SICK LEAVE BENEFITS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2016 Los Angeles City Council recently voted to increase the paid sick leave benefits required to be provided to employees working within the City of Los Angeles. These paid sick leave benefits are now...

In this edition we will address two recent and very important cases for employers to review relating to the legally required paid rest breaks provided to non-exempt employees. Also addressed below is a reminder about the March 1st deadline as to the All Gender...

On December 13, 2016, the IRS issued the 2017 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning January 1, 2017, the standard mileage rates for the use of a...

SPECIAL BULLETIN DECEMBER 2016 CITY OF LOS ANGELES PASSES BAN-THE-BOX ORDINANCE RESTRICTS USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY IN BACKGROUND CHECKS On December 9, 2016, Mayor Garcetti signed the “Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring” (commonly referred to as “Ban the...

When an employer’s headquarter is outside of California, but has employees inside of California, the employer may seek to include a provision in an employment contract that dictates the laws of another state govern the terms of employment, or that any disputes...

There has been an increase in the amount of benefits paid to employees on paid family leave (PFL) and state disability leave (SDI) from the current level of 55% to either 60% or 70% depending on the applicant’s income. (AB 908 signed in April, 2016)

Following a recent court decision, AB 2535 was passed which provides that employers need not list the number of hours worked on wage statements for any employee who is exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements pursuant to Labor Code Section 226(j) or pursuant...

This new law requires all employers to electronically file their employment tax returns, reports, and payments to the Employment Development Department (EDD) beginning January 1, 2017. According to the EDD’s website, this law will be phased in over two years to offer...

Labor Code Section 230 currently provides that an employer is prohibited from terminating, discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This prohibition includes any action based on the employee’s...

Certain jobs have different minimum salary requirements to maintain their exempt status. The minimum thresholds are subject to changes if the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) implements such a rate change. The DIR has announced the following rate changes for...

'Tis the season....while office holiday parties are a great opportunity to show appreciation for employees, improve employee morale and team-building, and provide a chance for employees to enjoy some "holiday cheer", care should be taken to ensure that there is no...

As has been widely reported in the past few weeks, the new federal overtime rule, which was supposed to become effective on December 1st, has been put on hold due to the preliminary injunction issued by a Federal court in Texas on November 22, 2016. As we reported...

As part of the minimum wage increase law passed last year, the next step up of the minimum wage occurs on January 1, 2017 as follows: Effective Date 26+ Employees 25 or Less Employees Current $10.00 $10.00 1/1/17 $10.50 $10.00 1/1/18 $11.00 $10.50 1/1/19 $12.00 $11.00...

The California Labor Code has been amended to prohibit employers from considering certain juvenile records for employment purposes. Currently, the Labor Code makes it unlawful for an employer to consider information concerning: an arrest or detention that did not...

Governor Brown signed into law two companion bills: AB 1676 and SB 1063. AB 1676 amends last year’s Fair Pay Act, to prohibit employers from considering the prior salary of an applicant/new employee as the sole justification for any disparity in compensation with...

When an employee brings a wage claim before the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (Labor Board) asserting the non-payment of minimum wage, a determination can be made that the employer must pay a civil penalty, the unpaid wages due and liquidated damages. An...

Effective March 1, 2017, this new law will require all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government agency to be identified as all-gender toilet facilities. For the purposes of this new law, the term...

An amendment to the Labor Code makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to request more or different documents than required under federal law: to verify that an individual is not an unauthorized immigrant, or to refuse to honor documents tendered that...

Due to the ever-increasing amount of litigation being filed over the “mis-classification” of an employee as exempt vs. non-exempt, it is critical to evaluate each job and determine the proper classification for compensation purposes. If an employee is mis-classified...