Blog
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 96
SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA
Home Care Outfit to Pay $2.3M for Misclassifying Caregivers as Independent Contractors
Under newly enacted Labor Code section 181, the California Labor Commissioner (LC) has cited Amity In-Home Care (Amity) $2.3 million for misclassifying caregivers as independent contractors.
PAYSTUB PERGATORY
The PAGA Perils of Not Paying Attention
We have many wonderful clients who over decades have built thriving businesses from scratch. There is joy in what they do, good managers working insane hours, with many trusted, well-paid employees who have hung-in for years, through good times and otherwise.
SHOWING UP
Contributing to Education and the Future in West Africa
First the dream, hard work to follow.
On my first contact with young West Africans — July, 2005 in Ghana — with their passionate optimism despite overwhelming illiteracy borne of a brutal, very recent past, I had the notion that, just maybe, we might work together to make a difference.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 95
NOT SO FAST
Feds Seek to Slow FedEx Remote Work Elimination for Disabled Employees
On the recent trend to direct workers back to the office, employers should not overlook teleworking as a reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 94
PEE-UW!
Cal/OSHA Fines Two Plumbing Companies For Safety Violations and Worker Injury
California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has issued $529,640 in citations to Smelly Mel’s Plumbing and Sewer Rat Plumbing after a trench collapsed on a San Mateo sewer line construction site, seriously injuring a worker buried under debris.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2025
END OF AN ERA
Key COVID Regulations Lifted
As of February 3, 2025, California employers no longer have to maintain a COVID-19 model written program or provide written notice to close contacts and COVID cases.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2025
New California Physicians and Surgeons Overtime Exemption Rates
California Labor Code section 515.6 exempts certain licensed physicians and surgeons from overtime compensation upon receipt of specified minimum hourly compensation.
California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has announced its rate increases for this minimum, effective January 1, 2025, to $103.75, up from $101.22, reflecting the 2.5% increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
WORKPLACE BASICS
Employee Policy Handbook & Forms for 2025
In our upcoming annual virtual seminar for employers, Friday, February 28, 2025), we will again emphasize that current, clearly stated workplace policies are a business’s frontline protections against Labor Code claims.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 93
NOT SO SAFEWAY?
Cal/OSHA Cites Supermart for Serious Hazardous Conditions in Warehouse
When Cal/OSHA inspected Safeway’s large warehouse in Tracy, CA, it found “significant safety violations” meriting $182,000 in penalties.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2025
EDUCATION EDGE
Annual Virtual Seminar for Employers
Friday, February 28, 2025
Covering Employment Legal Essentials and New Workplace Laws
Last chance for 2025 to attend our annual HR law update and refresher.