The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced its 2019 optional standard mileage reimbursement rate for employee business use of a personal vehicle, effective January 1, 2019, increasing from 54.5 cents to 58 cents. The IRS calculates the rate annually based on a study of fixed and variable automotive operating costs, including insurance, repairs, maintenance, gas […]
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 […]
Partner Cindy Bamforth Takes Part in Recent Women in Film L.A. Panel Discussion Sexual harassment has been unequivocally unlawful, in theory, for over three decades. With the rising flood in recent months of high-profile terminations and resignations stemming from such inexcusable violations, 2017 hopefully marks the make-break point where the law will at last widely apply […]
Employers with 20 or More on Payroll Must Provide Expanded Parental Leave Effective January 1, 2018, California’s “New Parent Leave Act” (the Act) requires all private employers with 20 or more on payroll to provide eligible workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected parental leave to bond with a new child within one […]
Paying Live-In Caregivers “Daily Flat Rate” Can Be a Very Expensive Mistake Continuing her public campaign for employers to adhere to California wage and hour laws, Labor Commissioner Julie Su has announced a judgment in favor of two live-in workers for wages, overtime, and meal breaks against Alexen Corporation, which runs facilities in San Lorenzo and […]
Team Acknowledgment, Yes; Bad Taste, Alienation and Harassment, No With sexual harassment scandals currently crowding the daily news cycle, the potential for a holiday office party to become a morale-crushing, litigation nightmare is greater today than ever. There is nothing wrong with annually celebrating company accomplishments and work well done. Yet, management must ensure such parties […]
Labor Commissioner’s Office Awards $3.5 Million Against Oakland Contractor The California Labor Commissioner cited Oakland construction contractor, Attic Pros, and its owner for misclassifying 119 workers as independent contractors. The Commissioner ordered the company to pay more than $3.5 million, including unpaid minimum wages and overtime, liquidated damages, waiting time penalties, and civil penalties for […]
OVERTIME-EXEMPT PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS 2018 RATE INCREASES California Labor Code section 515.6 exempts certain licensed physicians and surgeons from overtime compensation as long as they receive set minimum hourly rates of pay. The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) is increasing this minimum, effective January 1, 2018. To avoid California’s requirements to pay overtime premium rates […]
COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROFESSIONAL OVERTIME EXEMPTION 2018 RATES California Labor Code section 515.5 exempts certain computer software professionals from overtime compensation who receive specified minimum compensation. California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has announced its rate increase for this minimum, effective January 1, 2018. To comply with the section 515.5 exemptions, California employers must pay otherwise […]
Ban The Box California 2018 Means Employers Cannot Seek Criminal Record Until After Offer to Hire Applicant Following San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities and states across the country, California has added a provision to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) banning employers from asking applicants for criminal convictions before a conditional offer of […]