Five new California employment laws taking effect on January 1, 2016

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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