Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
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 […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Higher Workplace Standards to Assist Lactating Moms Since 2002, California has required employers to provide their lactating employees with reasonable time and adequate space to express breast milk. Effective January 1, 2020, Senate Bill (SB) 142 requires a clean, private and safe workplace location for the activity and a written lactation accommodation policy. Significant penalties […]
MY TRUE PAY
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill My “night job” for some 15 years now is to help make a difference in one of the most challenging regions of the planet, including the nations of Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa. Illiteracy […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 TIME’S UP, EXTENDED
Longer Three-Year Deadline For Initiating Discrimination Claims Targets of workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation prohibited by California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) now have three years (up from the previous one year) to file a claim with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the subject employer. A person claiming such wrongful […]
ETHICS
The Twentieth Century, and the start of the Twenty-First, have been no cakewalk. While our advances in science and technology have made possible the real prospect of a civilized world community, the reason, ethics and justice that would establish a secure society and lasting peace have been repeatedly crushed by the madness of ignorance, global […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 CALIFORNIA PROHIBITS MANDATORY EMPLOYEE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS
Arbitration is a form of private dispute resolution that takes the place of a lawsuit and court trial. Arbitration has many business-related advantages, including a more efficient, less-public process than the often-prolonged procedures of the court. Thus, employers often favor this alternative. California Labor Code section 432.6, effective January 1, 2020 as part of Assembly […]
WHAT’S NEW IN 2020 THAT’S FINAL, TENTATIVELY
Barring Successful Court Challenge, Federal Overtime Exemption Will Require Higher Salaries January 1, 2020 In 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a “Final Rule” more than doubling the minimum salary amounts for certain workers – administrative, executive, and professional, employees, as well as “highly compensated employees” (HCE) to qualify for overtime exemption under […]