By Anthony Zaller on November
6, 2015
Posted in Best Practices For California Employers, California
Legislation Update, Employee Handbooks, Expense Reimbursement, Wage & Hour
Law
I can hear the questions
already, just five new laws taking effect on January 1, 2016? No, there are
many more, as I have previously written about, but here are five additional new
laws employers need to understand going into 2016.
1. Family members of
whistleblower are granted protections and some employers are excluded from the
joint employer liability enacted in 2015
AB 1509 - Effective January 1,
2016, this bill prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee who is
a family member of an employee who made a protected complaint. The bill extends
the protections to an employee who is a family member of a person who engaged
in, or was perceived to engage in, the protected conduct or make a complaint
protected the law. This bill also amends Labor Code section 2810.3 to exclude
certain household goods carrier employers from the joint liability imposed
between the client employer and a labor contractor.
2. Labor Commissioner Provided
Increased Enforcement Authority Over Local Ordinances and the Ability to Issue
Awards For Expense Reimbursement
AB 970 - Effective January 1,
2016, provides the Labor Commissioner with authority to investigate and at the
request of the local government, to enforce local laws regarding overtime hours
or minimum wage provisions. The Labor Commissioner has authority to issue
citations and penalties for violations, but can not issue violations if the
local entity has already issued a citation for the same violation. The bill
also authorizes the Labor Commissioner to enforce Labor Code section 2802 which
requires employers to pay for business related costs that the employee directly
incurs in discharging their duties for the employer.
3. Labor Commissioner
Provided Increased Judgment Collection Authority
SB 588 - Amends the Labor Code
to provide the Labor Commissioner many more rights in collecting judgments
against employers who are found liable for unpaid wages. The Labor Commissioner
has authority to issue a lien against on an employer's property for the amount
of the judgment. Also, the law also imposes personal liability for employers in
adding Labor Code section 98.8 (f): Any person who is noticed with a levy
pursuant to this section and who fails or refuses to surrender any credits,
money, or property or pay any debts owed to the judgment debtor shall be liable
in his or her own person or estate to the Labor Commissioner in an amount equal
to the value of the credits, money, or other property or in the amount of the
levy, up to the amount specified in the levy.
Also, if an employer has a
judgment entered against it, and it is not paid within 30 days after the time
to appeal the judgment, the employer is required to obtain a bond in order to
continue to do business in California. Effective January 1, 2016
4. Employee's
Permitted Time Off From Work Expanded
SB 579 - Existing law
prohibits an employer who employs 25 or more employees working at the same
location from discharging or discriminating against an employee who is a
parent, guardian, or grandparent having custody of a child in a licensed child
day care facility or in kindergarten or grades of 1 to 12, inclusive, for
taking off up to 40 hours each year for the purpose of participating in school
activities, subject to specified conditions. The law is amended to provide
these protections for employees under a broader "child care
provider", and applies these protections to employees who are a
stepparent, foster parent, or who stands in loco parentis to a child.
The bill also amends
California's Kin Care law set forth in Labor Code section 233 to require employers
to allow employees to use "an amount not less than the sick leave that
would be accrued during six months" for family members as defined in the
Healthy Workplaces, Heathy Family Act of 2014, otherwise known as California's
paid sick leave law. The Kin Care law is amended under this bill to provide
that employers must allow employees to use up to one-half of their sick leave
to attend to victims of domestic violence or the diagnosis, care, or treatment
of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, the employee or the
employee's family member. Family member definition is broadened from the
existing definition under the law (a child, parent, spouse, or domestic
partner) to also include grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. Effective January
1, 2016.
5. Limits Placed on Employer's Use of E-Verify
AB 622 - Effective January 1,
2016, this bill adds Labor Code section 2814 which expands the definition of an
unlawful employment practice to include an employer or any other person or
entity using the E-Verify system when not required by federal law to check the
employment authorization status of an existing employee or an applicant who has
not received an offer of employment, as required by federal law, or as a
condition of receiving federal funds. The bill also requires an employer that
uses the E-Verify system to provide to the affected employee any notification
issued by the Social Security Administration or the United States Department of
Homeland Security containing information specific to the employee's E-Verify
case or any tentative nonconfirmation notice "as soon as
practicable." The bill provides for a civil penalty of $ 10,000 for an
employer for each violation of its provisions.
It is a good time to review
employee policies and handbooks to ensure they are compliant with the new
requirements.
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