Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 INDUSTRY WAGE ORDERS UPDATED FOR CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES
Don’t Forget to Post Your New California Wage Orders California employers must comply with one or more of the 18 California Industrial Welfare Commission’s (IWC) published “wage orders” applicable to their industry or profession. For example, Wage Order 1 applies to the manufacturing industry; Wage Order 4 to professional, technical, clerical, mechanical and similar occupations; […]
DFEH CHARGED SAN DIEGO CREDIT UNION WITH FAILING TO ACCOMMODATE DISABLED EMPLOYEE
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to engage in an “interactive process” with a worker requesting disability-related accommodation. The employer must have timely, good faith and ongoing discussions to explore if and how to reasonably accommodate the physically or mentally disabled worker’s ability to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Failure to do so can be a costly error.
E-VERIFY IS BACK FEBRUARY 11, 2019 “CATCH-UP” DEADLINE
The federal E-Verify program provides a way for employers to confirm that people they are hiring are eligible to work in the United States. Participation in E-Verify is discretionary for most employers, but mandatory for federal contractors and certain others, such as businesses in states requiring its use. California is not one of those states. […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 CALIFORNIA’S INCREASED PROTECTIONS AGAINST WORKPLACE HARASSMENT
In addition to the safeguards we have recently reported, the California legislature has enacted other significant “Me-Too”-inspired legislation effective January 1, 2019 to further prevent workplace harassment and encourage those targeted to prevail on their claims: Optional Bystander Intervention Training Authorized. Employers may, but are not required to, provide bystander intervention training and guidance to […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 IRS MILEAGE RATE INCREASING 3.5 CENTS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2019
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 […]
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 […]
SPEAKING OUT AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT
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 […]
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2018 CALIFORNIA’S “NEW PARENT LEAVE ACT” IMPACTS SMALL BUSINESS
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 […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 7
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 […]
THE BOUNDARIES OF HOLIDAY OFFICE GATHERINGS
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 […]