October 11, 2015, was Governor Brown’s last day to sign bills the California Legislature presented to him following the first year of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session. Below is a summary of what did and did not make Governor Brown’s final cut, and some practical tips for California employers to prepare themselves for compliance with these new California peculiarities.
SIGNED BY
Continue Reading 2015 California Labor and Employment Legislation Update: It’s Final!
By Annette Tyman, Christine Hendrickson and Kristina M. Launey
Yesterday, October 6, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Fair Pay Act, which media observers have called the nation’s most aggressive equal pay law. The Fair Pay Act will be effective January 1, 2016 for employers with California-based employees.
How Does This Law Differ From Current Laws Addressing Pay
Continue Reading California Governor Signs Strictest Equal Pay Law in U.S.
The California Legislature adjourned Friday evening, September 11, to close its 2015-16 Legislative Session. It sent a number of employment-related bills to Governor Brown for consideration by his October 11, 2015 deadline to sign or veto the bills. Below is a summary of those before him for consideration, as well as some significant bills he has already signed or that
Continue Reading 2015 California Labor and Employment Legislation Update: The End (of Session) Is Near…
Representing what media observers call the nation’s most aggressive attempt yet to close the salary gap between men and women, SB 358 would substantially broaden California gender pay differential law. Since the bill landed on his desk September 1, all eyes have been on Governor Jerry Brown. Though aide Nancy McFadden tweeted on Women’s Equality Day (August 26) that “@JerryBrownGov
Continue Reading California Gender Pay Equality Bill To Be Strictest In Nation?
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board issued its much-anticipated decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, 362 NLRB No. 186 (August 27, 2015). By a 3-2 vote, the Board announced a new standard to determine whether multiple entities are “joint employers” of a single workforce. The Board will now inquire whether there is a common-law employment relationship with the employees
Continue Reading NLRB’s New “Joint Employer” Standard: Seismic Impact for California Employers?
Did you know that California law currently allows employers in certain circumstances to give preferential treatment to candidates who aren’t “aliens”? No, you didn’t miss the new Independence Day movie (what took so long?) or yet another landing at Roswell. A 1937 statute, codified in California Labor Code section 1725, has for almost 80 years defined “alien” to mean “any
Continue Reading No More “Aliens”: Outdated Term Shipped Back to Home Planet
By Dana Peterson and Christopher Im
California’s Paid Sick Leave Law, AB 304, or the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 as it is officially known, is a hot topic that we have blogged about a number of times. Eligible employees began accruing paid sick time under the new law on July 1st. However, proposed amendments to the
Continue Reading AT LAST, Amendments to CA’s Paid Sick Leave Law Signed By Governor!
By Kristina Launey, Christina Jackson, Brad Doucette
Thursday, June 5 marked the last day for bills to pass out of their house of origin in the California Legislature. Here is a summary of some key employment bills that made it through (followed by some significant bills that did not), and how they may affect California businesses if they make it all the way to the Governor’s approval with their current language.
Leaves of Absence
Paid Sick Leave. AB 304. We’re all watching Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez’s attempt to clean-up some of the language in her Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, which took effect January 1, 2015, but which largely becomes operative July 1, 2015. On June 2, the Assembly approved inclusion of an urgency clause, which would allow the bill’s provisions to take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signing the bill; and exempts the bill from the house of origin deadline (the Assembly did not vote on it last week).
But, will the bill receive the Senate and Governor’s approval prior to July 1? It would have to move quickly, as would employers in adapting to these new provisions. Some key provisions in the current version of the bill are: (i) changing the rate of pay from a 90-day look-back to the regular rate, (ii) relieving employers of a duty to inquire or record the reason for an employee taking paid sick leave, (iii) allowing employers with unlimited time-off policies to comply with the written accrual notice by stating “unlimited” on the employee’s pay stub, and (iv) delaying until 2016 the written notice requirement for employers subject to Wage Orders 11 and 12. Look for an in-depth analysis on this bill here in coming days.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez’s AB 11, which would have included in-home support services under the definition of “employees” under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, did not make it out of the Assembly.
Kin Care. SB 579 seeks to amend California’s Kin Care law to tie its protections to the use of sick leave for the reasons specified in the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014. The bill also would expand coverage of California’s school activities leave (Family School Partnership Act) to include day care facilities and cover child care provider emergencies, and the finding, enrolling, or reenrolling of a child in a school or day care, and would extend protections to an employee who is a step-parent or foster parent or who stands in loco parentis to a child.
CFRA Leave. SB 406 would narrow the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) small business exemption. CFRA would now apply to businesses that employ 25—as opposed to the current 50 –within 75 miles. CFRA’s protections would also now extend to care for grandparents, all children (removing any age restriction), and grandchildren, as well as siblings, domestic partners, and in-laws.
Anti-Retaliation
Continue Reading 2015 Employment Bills Moving Through The CA Legislative Process
By Kristina Launey and Christina Jackson
Having reconvened this past Monday from Spring Recess, the California Legislature will return its attention to the employment-related bills that were introduced for this 2015-16 Legislative Session. These bills—covering topics including paid leave rights, hours of work, and payment of wages—will now be heard in committees, as their authors attempt to carry them through the process to the Governor’s desk for approval. While it is too early to tell which bills will make the cut, those that do will be sure to affect employers doing business in California.
The proposed bills we’re watching most carefully are:
Continue Reading California Legislative Update: 2015 Employment Legislation To Watch
On March 26, 2015, Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez – the author of California’s Paid Sick Leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (the “Act”) – introduced amendments to that law. The vehicle for those amendments, Assembly Bill 304, was re-referred to the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment to be set for hearing.
Continue Reading Not an April Fool’s Joke! Possible Legislative Clarification to CA Paid Sick Leave Law To Come: Proposed Amendments Introduced
