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California Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Extended To Dec. 31, 2022

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated in the title that SPSL was extended through 2023. AB 152 extends SPSL through Dec. 31, 2022.   Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 152 extending COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) through the end of 2022. The bill will also provide relief to small businesses ...

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Arizona’s Minimum Wage to Rise in 2023

Arizona’s minimum wage will rise to $13.85 an hour, up from $12.80 an hour, starting Jan. 1, 2023. Annual increases are mandated by Proposition 206, which Arizonans approved in 2016. That ballot measure steadily bumped up the minimum wage from $8.05 an hour in 2016 to $12 an hour by Jan. 1, 2020. The state’s ...

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Save the Date for the ‘Get Ready for AB 2183 – Union Card Check’ Webinar Scheduled for Dec. 7

Join the upcoming Legal webinar on Dec. 7, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT to learn more and prepare for the upcoming AB 2183 bill, scheduled to take effect in January 2023. The webinar, “Get Ready for AB 2183 – Union Card Check,” will go over the difference between the new “Labor Peace Election” ...

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FAQ: Immigration Executive Actions

On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced several executive actions on immigration.  Under the plan, an estimated four to five million undocumented immigrants will likely qualify for temporary relief from the threat of removal, and be eligible to receive employment authorization.  The president’s decision to bypass Congress has infuriated many Republicans with some vowing…

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Unpaid Security Checks

In December, the United States Supreme Court addressed whether employees are “working” while waiting to undergo mandatory, end-of-shift security checks.  The Court unanimously held that the time spent by warehouse workers waiting for and undergoing security screenings before leaving for the day is not compensable under federal law.  The decision in Busk v. Integrity…

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HR Spring Cleaning—Easy as 1, 2, 3

With spring’s promise of renewal and rejuvenation, it’s the perfect time to embark on the annual ritual of spring cleaning.  That usually means cleaning oft-neglected items such as windows and carpets, dusting those hard-to-reach places and removing excess clutter from the home.  But for the human resources professional, spring is an ideal time to clean ...

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Get Ready for Changes to California’s Heat Illness Prevention Regulation

On February 20, 2015, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted an amendment to the state Heat Illness Prevention (HIP) regulation, changing the requirements for potable water, shade, cool-down periods, high-heat procedures, emergency preparedness, acclimatization, training, and HIP plans.  The board is seeking a May 1 effective date from the Office of…

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California Family Rights Act Amendments Effective July 1

New amendments to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) have been promulgated with the purpose of more closely aligning the CFRA with the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and providing much needed clarification.  The new regulations will take effect on July 1, 2015. Key Changes The amendments are voluminous, but here is a list ...

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Industry Challenges Piece-Rate Compensation Decisions

In the summer of 2013, after the California Supreme Court declined to review the Appellate Court decisions in Gonzalez v. Downtown L.A. Motors and Bluford v. Safeway Stores—the two key cases that declared that piece rate employees must be separately paid for non-productive time and break periods—the flood gates have opened.  Over the past two ...

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DOL Says Most Independent Contractors Are Employees

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and their state agency counterparts, have been cracking down on independent contractor misclassification – that is, classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Employers sometimes elect to classify certain workers as contractors because contractors are believed to be cheaper than employees…

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Ninth Circuit Says PAGA Claims Can’t be Waived

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held in a 2-1 decision that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt the rule announced by the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC that representative claims brought under California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) cannot be waived.  The ...

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Governor Brown Signs “Country’s Toughest Equal Pay Law”

On October 6, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Fair Pay Act (SB 358) —considered to be the toughest equal pay law in the country.  The law strengthens existing gender pay equity protections for workers and imposes stiffer penalties for gender-based wage discrimination. Specifically, the law prohibits employers from paying different wage rates for ...

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New Rules for Piece-Rate Employees and Limited Safe Harbor

On October 10, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1513, which adds a new section to the Labor Code and codifies recent California state appellate court and federal district court decisions ruling that piece-rate employees must be separately paid for their nonproductive time and rest periods, in addition to their piece-rate earnings.  The ...

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New Personal Transport Carrier Regs in Effect

A regulation approving the limited use of agricultural personnel transport carriers (PTCs) in California goes into effect January 1, 2016. General Industry Safety Orders §3441 has been amended at new subdivision (i) to create an exception for PTC use under certain circumstances. Here is a brief summary of the new regulation: •   Use of PTCs would be ...

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USC Could be Thrown for a Loss In Football Coach Firing

The University of Southern California made national news last fall when it publicly fired its head football coach Steve Sarkisian.  Sarkisian was on shaky ground even before the season started, when he showed up drunk at a preseason rally, slurring a profanity-laden speech before a stunned audience of university supporters and parents.  He apologized soon ...

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You Might Be a Joint Employer

The topic of joint employment is certainly in vogue at the moment.  The U.S. Department of Labor is the latest government agency to get in on the action, proclaiming an expansive new interpretation of joint employment.  Specifically, on January 20, 2016, the DOL issued an Administrator Interpretation (AI) providing guidance as to what constitutes joint ...

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Litigation: A Lose-Lose Situation

“We treat our employees with respect.  We don’t need an employee handbook.” “We’re an at-will employer.  We don’t need a written warning in the file before we terminate.” “The At-Will acknowledgement is just going to scare off good employees.  We don’t need it.” “Arbitration Agreements?  Isn’t that just an invitation to sue?”   Famous Last…

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Countdown to Piece-Rate Safe Harbor Election

July 1, 2016, is the last day California employers may elect to avail themselves of the safe harbor provided under AB 1513. Enacted January 1, 2016, AB 1513 provides most employers an affirmative defense from class action lawsuits for having failed to pay piece-rate workers separately for “other non-productive time” or mandated rest and recovery ...

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Employee Retaliation Claims On the Rise

In 2015, employees filed 39,757 charges of unlawful retaliation, which is 44.5 percent of 89,385 charges of workplace discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year. Retaliation charges increased by nearly 5 percent over the prior year and continues to be the leading concern raised by workers across the country, followed ...

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Dark Clouds on the Horizon: Gov. Brown Signs Ag Overtime Bills

On September 12, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1066, which will gradually lower the daily and weekly hours of work thresholds for paying overtime to agricultural employees.  Currently, agricultural employees are entitled to be paid overtime when working over ten hours in a workday or more than six days in a workweek.  ...

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