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...

On November 14, 2016 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the new I-9 Form has been published. Below is information posted by the USCIS. The changes to the Form were designed to reduce errors and enhance form completion using a computer. To...

In mid August, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear a case filed against Starbucks Corp. to determine whether employees can bring wage-and-hour lawsuits over short periods of unpaid time; e.g. de minimis time. The lawsuit accuses Starbucks Corp. of not paying...

The question presented to the Court in this case is whether an arbitration provision in an employee handbook is legally enforceable. In the case before the Court, the employer had an employee handbook, as most employers have these days.  Also very common, the handbook...

Legislation passed earlier this year changes some of the rules relating to smoking in the workplace and expand already-existing smoke-free workplace protections. The changes were effective on June 9, 2016. Existing law prohibits employers from knowingly or...

In November 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced proposed changes to the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The Office of Management and Budget recently approved the final version of the new Form I-9, and the USCIS must...

The Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) issued a press release on August 31, 2016 announcing their on-line complaint processing system to make it easier for alleged Labor Code violations to be made…..Just what California employers need…. The press release states in...

Effective April 1, 2016, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) was amended to address numerous aspects of discrimination, harassment and other workplace issues. One issue that has become an recent “hot topic” is whether an employee is permitted to bring their...

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on July 26, 2016 that changes to two of the federal employment law posters have been made – which changes are effective August 1, 2016 so employers must act quickly to remain in compliance. These required updates affect the...

The Federal Department of Labor has recently released a new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster for use by employers covered by the FMLA (those with 50 or more employees). The new poster, dated April 2016, is reformatted and contains additional information on...

With the presidential campaigns underway, it is likely that some employees may engage in political discussions at work. These discussions can create controversy, animosity and other concerns for employers. Employees have certain protections regarding their right to...

As is well known, employers are required to provide rest breaks to all non-exempt employees whose total daily work time is at least 3.5 hours. These rest breaks must be at the rate of 10 “net” minutes for every four hours worked or “major fraction thereof.” In a...

Employers who are served with wage garnishments on behalf of their employees must adjust the amounts withheld. Beginning July 1, 2016, a withholding order cannot exceed the lesser of: 25 percent of an individual’s weekly disposable earnings; or 50 percent of the...

In 1995 California’s ban on smoking in the workplace was implemented prohibiting employers from knowingly or intentionally permitting the smoking of tobacco products at work, including lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, stairwells, elevators and restrooms, or in an...

On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the long awaited changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations that significantly affect who may continue to be classified as exempt under the executive, administrative and professional exemptions...

On April 4, 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 3 into law which addresses several issues including an increase of the state’s minimum wage. The minimum wage shall increase as of January 1, 2017 with additional increases through January 1, 2022 when it reaches...

As was discussed in our last Special Bulletin, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has issued amended regulations relating to an employer’s obligation to prevent and remedy workplace harassment. Additional amendments will also become effective April...

The USCIS published a notice on March 28, 2016 informing the public of proposed changes to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, as the current form is set to expire 3/31/16. The public comment period runs until April 27, 2016. A summary of the proposed...

New regulations regarding an employer’s obligation to prevent workplace misconduct have been adopted by the California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC). Implementation of these new regulations will be by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH),...

All employers must have notices posted in the workplace which  are legally required by both state and federal regulations. The posting must be in a conspicuous area accessible to all employees at each worksite. The size of the workforce will determine which posters...

Well I am not sure how it happened, but it’s the end of the year again .... and with year-end comes planning to implement all the new laws which take effect in 2016, and let’s not forget planning some holiday festivities.  Below is a summary of many of the new laws...

Historical Gender Based Wage Differentials It has been reported that in 2014 a woman working full-time in California earned an average of $.84 to every dollar a man earned, and the national average is a wage gap of $.78 to the dollar. The wage gap is much worse for...

As has been widely publicized and consumed much time in discussion and analysis, employers are reminded that effective July 1, 2015 the State of California’s Mandatory Sick Leave law will become effective. While the poster was required to be in place by January 1,...

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that the definition of “spouse” for purposes of the Federal Family and Medical Care Leave Act (FMLA) has been expanded to include same sex partners. In brief, the FMLA (and the California equivalent - California Family...

Effective January 1, 2015 there are several new posters that must be displayed in the workplace and forms that need to be provided to employees. Below is a summary of those necessary new posters and forms for distribution. PAID SICK LEAVE POSTER As was discussed in...