In part I of this two part series reviewing the employment law class of 2017 we focused on developments in discrimination, anti-retaliation and discharge, hiring and background checks, and workplace health and safety. In part II we will focus on developments in wage and hour law, leave laws, industry-specific regulations, and California’s recent legislation affecting choice-of-law in employment contracts. Similar to the laws featured in part I, a majority of these laws amend previous employment legislation. This trend demonstrates that the 2016 legislative session focused more on expanding and addressing lingering questions that stem from existing workplace mandates, than creating new rights under California law. As the majority of the laws take effect on January 1, 2017, HR departments and employment counsel are off and running, to get employers prepared for a new year of implementation.
Continue Reading California’s Employment Law Class of 2017 (Part II): The Laws, Their Effects and Some Recommendations for Compliance
California’s Employment Law Class of 2017 (Part I): The Laws, Their Effects and Some Recommendations for Compliance
Amend, extend and clarify: the 2016 legislative session was not so much about creating new rights and responsibilities under California employment law, but more about expanding and addressing lingering questions that stem from existing workplace mandates. However, don’t be fooled by the lack of “new” regulations. By amending many of California’s complex existing laws, the legislature certainly placed HR departments and employment counsel in a difficult position to prepare for compliance by the looming January 2017 implementation date (for most of these laws). With a full plate of issues, such as workplace health and safety, pay equity, hiring, leave laws, harassment and discrimination, and, of course, wage and hour updates (no big surprise there), the class of 2017 will make an impact that will last for years and spur on dramatic change.
In this first portion of our two-part review of the employment law class of 2017, we will focus on developments in discrimination, anti-Retaliation and discharge, hiring and background checks, and workplace health and safety. In part II we will focus on developments in wage and hour law, leave laws, industry-specific regulations, and California’s recent legislation affecting choice-of-law in employment contracts.
Continue Reading California’s Employment Law Class of 2017 (Part I): The Laws, Their Effects and Some Recommendations for Compliance
We May Not Have Heard The Last Word . . . The New White Collar Exemption Rules
Get ready, set…but wait…maybe not… As employers gear up to meet the swiftly approaching December 1, 2016, deadline to implement the Department of Labor’s (‘DOL”) new overtime pay requirements for white-collar workers, 21 states, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and several other business groups filed legal challenges in various courts to halt the changes The DOL’s Final Rule was specifically designed to raise the salary of low-wage workers who perform exempt work, and therefore, do not qualify to be paid for overtime. Although some welcome this amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for America’s workers, others believe the revisions basically ignore the type of work performed in favor of doubling the salary threshold for overtime exemption. Although many employers are wondering if the filing of the new lawsuits will top the new rules from coming into force, they are advised to continue working diligently to adjust their business practices in order to ensure compliance with the law’s requirements until further notice.
Continue Reading We May Not Have Heard The Last Word . . . The New White Collar Exemption Rules
Employers Act Even Before Additional Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence Are Law
California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed AB 2337, strengthening the job protections for victims of domestic violence, and ensuring those who work for employers with 25 or more employees are notified of protected time-off rights for domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, without threat of termination or retaliation. The Bill’s author, Assembly member Autumn Burke (representing the 62nd California Assembly District, including the cities of Inglewood and El Segundo, as well as coastal Los Angeles and L.A. County), proclaimed that “victims of domestic violence shouldn’t have to choose between their job and their safety.”
Continue Reading Employers Act Even Before Additional Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence Are Law
San Francisco Becomes the First City to Provide Fully Paid Parental Leave
San Francisco has just given the employees of its resident companies quite the baby shower gift. On April 5, 2016, San Francisco passed its Paid Parental Leave law. The local ordinance will leverage off of the California Paid Family Leave law passed in 2004, which allows employees to take time off to bond with a newborn baby, newly adopted child, or newly placed foster child. California Paid Family Leave currently entitles workers to receive 55 percent of their pay for up to six weeks through payments made by the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) fund, a fund financed by the payroll contributions of workers. San Francisco will now require private employers to make up the remaining 45 percent of the parent’s full pay to ensure they receive 100 percent of their normal wages over the six weeks’ leave period.
Paid parental leave has become a hot topic in U.S. employment law over the past few years, as evidenced by New York’s approval of parental leave legislation just last month. San Francisco’s law gives additional volume to the national conversation by passing a measure that requires employers to provide six weeks of fully paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, including same-sex couples, to spend time at home with their newborns.
Employees, both mothers and fathers, who have been employed for at least 180 days, work as least eight hours a week, and spend at least 40 percent of their workweek in San Francisco, qualify for this benefit. The six weeks off can be taken at any time during the newborn’s first year or the first year following placement of an adopted or foster child.Continue Reading San Francisco Becomes the First City to Provide Fully Paid Parental Leave
California Governor Signs into Law New Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 per Hour
Not to be outdone by New York’s pending move to increase its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour for non-exempt employees in the coming years, on April 4, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will increase California’s statewide minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2022. The bill sets out gradual increases in the California minimum wage, starting with a move up to $10.50 per hour January 1, 2017, for all employees working for an employer of 26 or more employees. Smaller businesses with 25 or fewer employees will follow the same incremental increases as larger employers, but starting a year later, with a move up to $10.50 per hour January 1, 2018.
The incremental increases every January 1 will be as follows:
Continue Reading California Governor Signs into Law New Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 per Hour
Would ‘St. Patrick’s Way’ Qualify for a Workplace Accommodation?
If Saint Patrick walked into your workplace today, how would he and his beliefs be received? As we gather on March 17, amidst the shamrocks and celebrations, let’s not forget why we honor the life of this patron saint. Born in the late 4th century, Maewyn Succat was canonized as Saint Patrick for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Saint Patrick’s workplace was an entire nation, where he travelled the countryside, baptizing hundreds of souls and establishing monastery schools and churches of the Christian faith. In contemporary times, we call this activity proselytizing. In an age where the demands of work duties require more hours and employees’ personal time, beliefs find more expression during the business day. Modern employers, on the one hand, embrace such expressions within the workplace, as self-appreciation leads to greater creativity and productivity. But on the other hand, work is work and most employers want to avoid the clashing of employee beliefs on the shop floor. So what’s the answer? A policy and process to accommodate religious beliefs, which is likely a much different approach than the Romans used with Saint Patrick.
Continue Reading Would ‘St. Patrick’s Way’ Qualify for a Workplace Accommodation?
March 17 Webinar: Relationships Between California Companies and Their Workers
California is home to a burgeoning nontraditional workforce. The state’s laws and regulations recognize many types of engagements beyond the traditional employer-employee relationship, so long as the rules and regulations that establish and maintain these arrangements are respected. This program will examine just how companies and nontraditional workers get the job done, while remaining compliant
Love at Work: Romance Through Contract
As we prepare to celebrate our national day of love and embrace the spirit of St. Valentine that is descending everywhere, employment lawyers have one thing on their minds – Managing Workplace Romances! From out and out prohibition, to managers who look the other way when there’s an occasional “cuddle-n-kiss” in the supply closet, the risk of liability for relationships at work is a real threat. Despite company tactics to thwart liability, romance at work is not fading, but it is ever-present and growing stronger. Companies need a practical approach to dealing with modern views toward inter-office relationships, and the fallout from them that can ensue. Whether the question is “want to get a drink after work” or a more modern crude expression, we recommend the following step-by-step approach from the initial ask and response:
Continue Reading Love at Work: Romance Through Contract
California’s Employment Law Class of 2016: The Laws, Their Effects and Our Recommendations for Compliance
Each year, the California legislature – historically the most active of state regulators – reexamines the relationship between employers and their workforces and emerges with a multitude of employment law protections. 2015 was no exception. Lawmakers created novel and expansive measures, affecting companies throughout the state in varying degrees. Some of the laws, most of which take effect January 1, 2016, are reactions to cases decided, while others are sweeping remedies to historic and longstanding issues.
As we close out 2015, we prepare for 2016, by providing an overview of specific areas of employment law (discrimination/anti-retaliation/discharge; wage and hour; leave laws), the effect the new laws will have on employers, and some basic recommendations to help prepare for compliance. Our recommendations are limited, as the impact of these new laws are yet unknown.Continue Reading California’s Employment Law Class of 2016: The Laws, Their Effects and Our Recommendations for Compliance