The $10 state-wide minimum wage that hits us on January 1, 2016, will complicate things even more than the last increase.
We previously reported here and here on the two-step legislation aimed to increase minimum wage from $8 to $10 by way of two $1 incremental raises. The first $1 increase took effect July 1, 2014. Now it’s time for
Continue Reading Corollary (and Coronary?) Ramifications Of the 2016 Minimum Wage Increase
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
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
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
By Kristina Launey and Christie Jackson
On August 30, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown commented on the Legislature’s passage of a bill entitled the “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014”: “Tonight, the Legislature took historic action to help hardworking Californians. This bill guarantees that millions of workers – from Eureka to San Diego – won’t lose their jobs or pay just because they get sick.” The bill, which he signed into law September 10, will require employers statewide to provide paid sick leave.
Though the requirement that employees receive paid sick leave under the Act does not kick in until July 1, 2015, the Act already has employers sweating the law’s myriad of new provisions, mindful of the compliance headaches the new law’s vagaries are certain to bring. If only there were a vaccine… For now, as is often the case, the only sure cure is prevention. Awareness and proactive preparation is the only way to weather the worst of this latest legislative virus.
Employees May Earn 24 Hours of Paid Sick Leave Per Year: The Act grants a right to earn paid sick days to employees who—on or after July 1, 2015—work in California for 30 or more days within a year. Paid sick days will accrue at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. The employee may use the accrued sick days beginning on the 90th day of employment. Exempt employees’ accrual is based on a presumed 40 hour-workweek; except that an exempt employee whose normal workweek is fewer than 40 hours will accrue paid sick days based on that employee’s normal workweek.
An employer can limit use of paid sick days to 24 hours or three days in each year of employment. No accrual or carry over is required if the full amount of leave is received at the beginning of each year. The Act does not require extra paid sick days to be paid by employers whose paid time off policies already provide as many sick days as the Act now requires.
Qualifying Reasons for Use:
Continue Reading New Sick Pay Law Will Nauseate Some California Employers