The Blog

New CA Employment and Labor Laws 2021

California Family Rights Act (CFRA) SB 1383
This is California’s equivalent to the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  California has now significantly expanded its CFRA:

Covered “Employer” Expanded – CFRA used to apply only to employers with 50 or more employees.  This now applies to employers with at least 5 employees.
Covered Family Members Expanded – The CFRA allows eligible employees up …

Continue Reading »

Update: DOL Emergency Paid Sick Leave/Expanded FMLA Regulations

The content of this email/post is as of 3:03 pm, Sunday March 29, 2020.
HR 6201 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was enacted Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
FFCRA directed the Secretary of Labor (Department of Labor (DOL)) to issue regulations regarding it.
The DOL has not yet issued regulations (they have said they will do so by “April 2020”).  Meanwhile, DOL has …

Continue Reading »

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

All Employers – the federal government has passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which directly impacts all employers with up to 500 employees.
This is the first federal law passed to provide some relief to employees.  FFCRA contains several major provisions, three of which directly impact employers with up to 500 employees.
Two major emergency components require paid leave (with …

Continue Reading »

Variable Hourly Rate Incentive Compensation – Finally A Silver Lining for California Employers

Since 2012, California businesses have been hammered by adverse compensation rulings. Incentive compensation plans have been under fire. It seems the California legislature (and courts) think everyone should be paid solely on an hourly basis.
Finally California employers have an court opinion that supports incentive-based compensation. But first the background.
California Minimum Wage Obligations/Challenges to Same.
California law says, “Every employer shall pay …

Continue Reading »

Pay Hourly Employees To The Second

Or round up to the nearest minute, lest one of your employees claims you failed to pay them for all hours worked.
I’ve been preaching for a while that employers should get an electronic time keeping system and pay non-exempt employees to the minute. Based on the recent California Supreme Court ruling (Troester v. Starbucks Corp.) California employers would be wise …

Continue Reading »

New Employer Laws 2018: After Two Quiet Years, California State Legislators Hammer Job Creators (Employers)

Summary:

LC 1182.12 Reminder CA Minimum Wage Goes Up January 1, 2018
Time To Redo Your Job Applications

AB 168 California Employers Cannot Ask for Salary Information or Rely On Salary Info In Hiring Decision or Salary Decision
AB 1008 California Employers Cannot Ask For Any Conviction History On Application

SB 63 California Employers With 20+ Employees Must Allow Parental Leave
SB 450 California Employers Now …

Continue Reading »

Has the Ninth Circuit Crippled Employer-Employee Arbitration?

Arbitration is a critical tool for California and small and medium businesses to deal with the escalating costs of traditional litigation. Arbitration allows employer-employee disputes to be resolved in a quicker, less formal manner. That does not sit well with many judges and plaintiff’s attorneys, who continue to mount attacks on the validity of arbitration agreements despite the mandates of …

Continue Reading »

Use Stand-Alone Agreements For Employment Arbitration

Employee handbooks are an essential legal document that every California small and medium business (SMB) should have. An effective employee handbook spells out what you expect from your employees and helps protect your business from potential lawsuits. But if you want an enforceable arbitration agreement for employment disputes don’t bury it in your employee handbook. Use a separate stand-alone arbitration …

Continue Reading »

Uber Decision Good News (Mostly) for Employers Who Seek Arbitration

Arbitration has always been a controversial issue in California employment law. State judges are typically more hostile towards private arbitration agreements than federal courts. This puts a burden on employers, who must fight just to enforce arbitration agreements that their employees agreed to. But even when employers offer arbitration agreements under clear terms it can take a trip to federal …

Continue Reading »

Maintain Privacy of Workplace Investigations

Some Complaints Need Legal Investigation
Business owners in California have to deal with employees who complain about violations of their rights, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, complaints about break times and we’re just getting started. It’s tough enough for small businesses just to keep track of all the legal rules when it comes to their employees. Then, when an employee says that the …

Continue Reading »
Showing Page 1 of 8