Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
COVID-19 GETS NOTICED
As reported in “Federal Coronavirus Workplace Relief,” the March 18 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) contains two nationwide employee leave laws, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (PSL Act) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA). In essence and applicable to businesses with fewer than 500 employees: The PSL Act requires […]
UNEMPLOYMENT GOES VIRAL
Furlough Versus Layoff: A Distinction Without a Difference? The Coronavirus crisis has forced many employers to reduce or eliminate their work force for the foreseeable future. Some employers are characterizing such action as a temporary “furlough.” Others are framing such action as a “lay off” for the time being, until the calamity passes. Yet, for […]
HOLDING FIRM
As a close observer of the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak from my West African work, the most precious commodity in the current pandemic is knowledge. Please consider this eight-minute COVID-19 video for a concrete understanding of the actual challenge we all face and the simple actions necessary to place this ordeal firmly in the rear view […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 ORGAN DONOR LEAVE EXPANDED
Effective January 1, 2020 California law requires employers with 15 or more on payroll to provide paid organ donor leave to any employee undergoing such procedures. Beginning January 1, 2020, employers must also provide additional unpaid time off up to a total of 30 business days for organ donor leave. Thus, any employee undergoing an […]
ROADKILL
Federal Court Denies Uber Request to Stop AB5 In a blow to the gig economy, a Los Angeles federal court has ruled that Uber, Postmates and two individual plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on their constitutional challenges to AB5. Olson v. State of California (Olson). While noting the potential harm Uber and the other plaintiffs […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 DOT YOUR I-9’S
Revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 Released January 31, 2020 All U.S. employers must verify identity and work authorization for each employee hired within the U.S., including citizens and non-citizens, using “Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification” (the I-9 Form or Form). The I-9 form directs the employee to present specified documents evidencing identity and employment […]
THE MYSTERY OF IT ALL
Lony Chaney, 1920 Employed or Independent? California Offers AB5 Answers The hottest California employment question of late: do independent contractors still exist? The California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex decision turned independent classification on its head, imposing a strict “ABC” contrary to decades of law and custom. The legislature followed suit with Assembly Bill (AB) 5, […]
MINIMUM WAGE LAWS
A History With two exceptions (New Zealand, 1894; Australia, 1896), no country had a minimum wage law until the 20th Century. Instead, employers paid supposed “just (or fair) wages” on the purported mutual consent of their workers. Beginning in the late 1800s, religious and political groups attacked the “just wages” principle on the premise that […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 ROAD TRIP DIP
IRS Mileage Rate Down a Half Cent Effective January 1, 2020 The Internal Revenue Service has announced its 2020 optional standard mileage reimbursement rate for employee business use of a personal vehicle, effective January 1, 2020, decreasing from 58 to 57.5 cents. These rates stem from annual government studies of fixed and variable automotive operating […]
PAYDAY MAYDAY
Read the Fine Print: Payroll Companies Not Responsible for Employer Compliance Many employers mistakenly presume they can depend on their payroll companies for legally compliant services. The fine print will almost certainly establish otherwise. Unfortunately, more than a few businesses have learned this lesson the hard way. It is common for payroll service providers to […]