Author Archive
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 5
GOLDEN RULES
Employers can and should provide employees with properly-written rules and standards of conduct. These include prohibited conduct, such as:
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF-YEAR MAKES
Departing from the usual annual adjustment, the IRS has announced a mid-year increase — effective July 1, 2022 – on its employee vehicle reimbursement rate from 58.5 cents/mile to 62.5.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 4
FEASTS AND FESTIVITIES
Contrary to perhaps common perception, California’s private employers have no legal obligation to grant employee time off for holidays or to pay for that time. Whether to provide workers that time away – paid or unpaid – to promote workforce goodwill and morale is a different question.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 3
NAME YOUR PASSION
With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion, controversial politics is again taking national center stage, potentially in the workplace.
HOW TO CALL IT EVEN
For decades, California has recognized the validity of “rounding” employee hours to the nearest five minutes, one-tenth or quarter hour, plus or minus, as an “efficient” and “practical” way to calculate pay as long as the practice did not deprive workers of their compensation over time. However, electronic technology’s advances may reduce rounding to an historical relic.
CALIFORNIA MID-YEAR MINIMUM WAGE RATE INCREASES
California minimum wage is currently $14.00/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $15.00 for employers with 26 or more. Governor Newson has projected an across-the-boards increase to $15.50/hour on January 1, 2023.
FACE THE MUSIC
By survey, as many as one in three women have experienced workplace sexual harassment over their careers, with less than 20% ever reporting the matter to management. A 2021 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report found California’s incidence to be significantly higher than the national average.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 2
AT THE STARTING LINE
Workplace policy manuals (handbooks) often include a progression of employee classifications, such as probationary/introductory, regular, full-time, part-time, temporary, leased, exempt from overtime, and non-exempt from overtime.
AVOID BLOWER BLOWBACK
While logic might suggest no need to reimburse an employee with unlimited minutes for business use of her or his phone, California follows different reasoning.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 1
TWO-WAY STREET
An employer should not underestimate the importance in confirming and preserving in writing “at-will” employment. Most states, including California, permit the employment relationship to end at the will of either the employer or the employee at any time unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Ambiguity can thus put management at a significant disadvantage.