We’ve previously covered California’s sweeping Paid Sick Leave Law that took effect July 1, 2015 here and here. Now Santa Monica – not to be outdone by Bay Area sister municipalities in San Francisco, Oakland, and Emeryville – enacted its own paid sick leave ordinance (“Ordinance”) on January 26, 2016 – just two weeks after it was initially proposed.
Continue Reading Riding the Paid Sick Leave Wave–Santa Monica Edition
The California Regular Rate Of Pay: Not So Peculiar
CASE HAS BEEN OVERTURNED – turn to this post for current information.
We normally write about how California law differs from American law generally. Today, though, we highlight a recent California case that rejected the notion that California law should deviate from analogous federal wage and hour law. That case is Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of California. More
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Just In Time For Flu Season! More on Sick Pay
Employers navigating the treacherous waters of California’s new Paid Sick Leave Law and its recent amendments recently received some welcome guidance from the Labor Commissioner. On the heels of an August 7, 2015 opinion letter, in October, the LC issued updated FAQs to assist employers comply with the new law.
While much of the information in the updated FAQs
Continue Reading Just In Time For Flu Season! More on Sick Pay
What the Doctor Ordered? AB 304’s Cure For Sick Pay Law
By Dana L. Peterson and Christopher Im
Just weeks before California’s Paid Sick Leave Law fully takes effect on July 1, 2015, the California Legislature has formulated amendments to what is officially known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (a frequent subject of our blogs).
The proposed amendments, appearing in Assembly Bill 304, would treat some of the Paid Sick Leave Law’s worst maladies. To read the full text of the proposed amendments, click here.
The amendments should be chicken soup for the soul of employers who have found cold comfort in the FAQs issued by the Labor Commissioner. (See CA Paid Sick Leave Update). And AB 304, first introduced in February 2015, now has an “urgency clause” (added on June 2), which would make the amendments effective as soon as Governor Brown signs the bill. Without the urgency clause, the amendments would not be effective until January 2016.
The key proposed amendments include:
Continue Reading What the Doctor Ordered? AB 304’s Cure For Sick Pay Law
Not an April Fool’s Joke! Possible Legislative Clarification to CA Paid Sick Leave Law To Come: Proposed Amendments Introduced
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
CA Paid Sick Leave Update: Labor Commissioner Issues More FAQs
The Labor Commissioner has issued a new and updated set of FAQs interpreting California’s new Paid Sick Leave Law (AB 1522 of 2014).
If you’ve been following along, you know that after passage of the new law last year, the Labor Commissioner issued a template Poster and Wage Theft Prevention Notice for employers to use and post, as well as a first set of FAQs.
The new FAQs obligate employers to inform existing employees of the new sick pay law and changes in policy via the Wage Theft Notice, provide guidance regarding when such notice must be given to existing employees, and provide guidance regarding sick leave eligibility for seasonal or break-in-service employees, as well as part-time and alternative work schedule employees.
Wage Theft Prevention Notices: Employees hired before January 1, 2015 must receive a new Notice that contains the new information regarding paid sick time under amended Labor Code section 2810.5, even if there is no change in employer policy.
Employers must give all employees (not just those hired after January 1, 2015) a new Wage Theft Prevention Notice, announcing any change to paid sick leave, within seven days of the actual change. Although the FAQs are silent on this point, note that Labor Code section 2810.5, which requires Wage Theft Prevention Notices, applies only to non-exempt employees.
The “date of actual change” would depend on when the employer either establishes a paid sick program under the paid sick leave law or changes an existing paid leave program to comply with this law, but would be no later than July 1, 2015. Thus, the last date to provide notice of changes would be no later than July 8, 2015 (seven days after the July 1 sick leave entitlement effective date).
Employers who do not want to issue new Wage Theft Prevention Notices to all current employees may instead inform those employees of the change to paid sick leave by using an alternative method authorized by Labor Code section 2810.5(b)(1) or (b)(2) (e.g., giving notice of change in a pay stub or itemized wage statement). Employers who choose this route should take care to follow the requirements of these alternatives and keep records of having provided those employees with the notice.
Even employers whose existing policy satisfies the minimum requirements of the law must still provide notice—via the new Wage Theft Prevention Notice or an alternative method—regarding the new paid sick leave law. The notice must contain information about the new paid sick leave law and how the employer intends to meet its requirements for the particular employee. For example, a timely writing provided to each employee that refers to or summarizes the existing policy and contains the points of information specified in the revised Wage Theft Prevention Notice would comply with the individual notice requirement.
Continue Reading CA Paid Sick Leave Update: Labor Commissioner Issues More FAQs
Bay Area Voters Impose Local Requirements for Minimum Wage, Sick Leave, and Workplace Flexibility: Part 1 of 2
By Jason Allen
As the year winds down, we thought it wise to look back at what California’s busiest locality has done in developing local employment law. The folks in the Bay Area have been so busy flexing their employment law muscles that we’ve split this summary into two easily digestible posts to provide what you’ll need to hop on
Continue Reading Bay Area Voters Impose Local Requirements for Minimum Wage, Sick Leave, and Workplace Flexibility: Part 1 of 2
CA Paid Sick Leave Update: Labor Commissioner Issues FAQs
Speculate no more: the wait is over. No, we don’t know the details of the new Star Wars movie. Nor do we know the gender of the second royal baby. But we do have the Labor Commissioner’s just-issued FAQs, which can help guide employers in navigating California’s new Paid Sick Leave Law (AB 1522).
These FAQs come on the heels of the LC’s issuance of the highly anticipated Poster and Wage Theft Notice Template.
Of particular significance, the FAQs provide the following guidance and clarifications:
Continue Reading CA Paid Sick Leave Update: Labor Commissioner Issues FAQs
CA Paid Sick Leave Law Update: Labor Commissioner Issues Poster and Wage Theft Notice Templates and Sets Leave Accrual Date
By Kristina Launey and Ann Marie Zaletel
Just over a month before the January 1, 2015 effective date of AB 1522, the Labor Commissioner has issued two advisories of immediate interest to California employers. One is a template poster for employer compliance and the other is a revised Wage Theft Notice.
Employers may choose to use the template
Continue Reading CA Paid Sick Leave Law Update: Labor Commissioner Issues Poster and Wage Theft Notice Templates and Sets Leave Accrual Date