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WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 CALIFORNIA’S MINIMUM WAGE RATES FOR 2019
California minimum wage will increase to $12.00 per hour on January 1, 2019 for employers with 26 or more employees and $11.00 for smaller employers with 25 employees or less. Those rates will continue to increase annually until reaching $15 per hour in 2022 for larger employers and in 2023 for those with 25 or […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 ENCOURAGING GOOD BEHAVIOR
California Expands Sexual Harassment and Violence Legal Protections A claim for sexual harassment exists under section 51.9 of the Civil Code against someone who is in a “business, service or professional relationship” with the harassment victim. This section enumerates various professions subject to such a claim including attorneys, persons with a master’s degree in social […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2019 #METOO AND THE WORKPLACE
Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Now Required for Nearly All California Businesses and Each Employee The #MeToo movement has spurred the California Legislature to significantly expand mandatory sexual harassment prevention training to all employers with five or more on payroll, including seasonal and temporary workers. Companies now must train supervisors and subordinate workers alike. Previously, only […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 CALIFORNIA’S CLARIFICATION ON EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO THEIR PAYROLL RECORDS
COPY THAT California employers must provide employees with accurate, itemized written wage statements semi-(twice)-monthly or at the time or each payment of wages. Those statements must contain exact, detailed pay-related information, such as the employee’s identity, hours worked, and gross and net wages earned. Labor Code 226(a). See, Ignore at Your Own Peril (February, 2018). […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 DON’T BE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG
Employers May be Liable For Unpaid Wages to Subcontractor’s Workers Section 218.7 of the Labor Code, effective January 1, 2018, made contractors responsible for wage and benefit payments to employees of subcontractors who fail to make those payments. It permitted a contractor to require proof of wage and benefit payments from subcontractors and to withhold […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 NURSING MOMS AND THE WORKPLACE
California employers must make reasonable efforts to provide their lactating employees with the use of a room or location – other than a toilet stall – in close proximity to the employee’s work area for the employee to express breast milk in private. Effective January 1, 2019, amended California Labor Code section 1031 will […]
PREGNANCY ACCOMMODATION IN CALIFORNIA
New, Simpler Certification Form for Disability Leave, Transfer and Other Reasonable Accommodation The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to provide pregnancy disability leave, transfer and/or other reasonable accommodation due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. A woman is “disabled by pregnancy” if her […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 22
THAI RESTAURANTS BARBEQUED Three Southern California Outlets and Owners Must Pay Workers Over $1,000,000 for Wage Theft On October 3, 2018, the Labor Commissioner’s Office announced that it has cited Sanamluang Café in North Hollywood, Orchid Thai Cuisine in Arcadia, and Orchid Thai in Baldwin Park, a total of $1,065,646 for wage theft violations. The […]
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS? IT DEPENDS
Radically New Dynamex Test Only Applies to Certain Employee Classification Cases This past spring, the California Supreme Court inexplicably tossed out its decades-old “multi-factor” independent contractor test in favor of a far more stringent three-part “ABC” test. (Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court). See, Independent Contractor Status in California Now Falls Under Radically Different […]
LEADING THE WAY TO SUCCESS
Partner Cindy Bamforth Advises Conference for Work Experience Educators The California Association of Work Experience Educators (CAWEE) is a state-wide professional association that since 1965 has been providing training and education on child labor laws and employment laws compliance, helping their members in turn to prepare their students for life within the workforce. On October […]