Archive for the ‘Employment Law’ Category
NOW WHAT?
California Requirements to Avoid Employee Heat Illness in Time of Face Mask With temperatures rising to summer levels in parts of the state, employer obligations to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses, beginning at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, come into force. Areas not yet reaching that threshold should prepare for the heat to come. Particularly with […]
FREE MONEY, DEFINED
PPP Loan Forgiveness Clarified and Expanded The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act) protects small business from COVID-19’s economic impact. Section 1102 of the Act created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help employers keep their workers on payroll. Qualifying PPP loans may be forgiven up to the full principal amount. See also, […]
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION: OLD DEFINITION NEW MEANING
The Supreme Court’s “Unexpected” Expansion of Equal Rights for Gay and Transgender Employees The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is America’s foremost protection against employment discrimination (also known as “Title VII”). Yet, for more than five decades, courts have applied this law to preserve such “equal rights” only for some, and decidedly not for homosexual or transgender persons. No […]
NEW LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE RATES EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2020
California minimum wages are currently $13.00 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $12.00 for employers with 25 employees or less. On January 1 of each coming year, these will continue to increase one dollar/hour until reaching $15 per hour for the larger employers (26-plus) in 2022 and for the smaller employers […]
KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES
New Employer Restrictions on Hiring Notices and Interviews Starting July 1, 2020 California law prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees for their membership in any protected class, including religious creed, disability and age (40+). The California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) has issued new regulations effective July 1, 2020, to better protect such individuals. Advertisements. The […]
SOCIETY’S HIGH WIRE ACT WEEK ELEVEN
California’s Stage Two Phased Reopening Continues While we are not yet out of the woods, state and local government continue to ease restrictions upon life as we at least used to know it. As pandemic pressure has eased and public demands have increased, at least 35 counties have announced their ability to accelerate their transition through “Stage 2” […]
PAID SICK LEAVE GOING VIRAL
California Cities and Counties Expanding Pandemic-Related Benefits In response to COVID-19, a growing number of California cities and counties have issued expanded paid sick leave laws primarily targeting employers exempt from the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). To our knowledge, and as of May 29, 2020: City Covered Employers Effective Date Expiration Date Other resources […]
CALLING OUT BIG GIG
California Wants Uber and Lyft Drivers as Employees It seemed like a good idea at the time: the rapid growth of Uber-style “gig economy” business models ostensibly offering a win-win of worker freedom and consumer convenience. Yet, California government came to another conception of such arrangements: presumed exploitation. Hence enter AB 5 and its hardball […]
COVID-19, I PRESUME
Workers Compensation Coverage for Diagnosed Workers California employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance for on-the-job injuries and job-related illnesses. California governor Newsom’s May 6, 2020 Executive Order N-62-20 (the order) directs that workers contracting COVID-19-related illness between March 19 and July 5, 2020 are presumed entitled to full work comp coverage, including medical care, temporary […]
IN THE KNOW
New Post-Pandemic Workplace Policies If California has been able to flatten the COVID-19 curve over the past two months, it has been by a sustained flood (pandemic?) of government directives and orders. Over the past week alone, the State of California has issued no less than 26 road maps, guidance memos, and checklists relating to […]