January 1st Legal Changes

“I know some things are changing soon but can’t remember what… help!”

Your HR Survival Tip

The first of January each year does seem to be the date many new laws or regulations go into effect. In the past couple of years we’ve seen paid sick leave laws with varying effective dates, depending on the city.

There were more laws passed than I’ve listed below but they either aren’t for everyone or they go into effect later in the year. Below are things to prepare for by January 1, 2017:

• California minimum wage increases to $10.50 per hour ONLY for those companies with 25+ employees. (If you are not yet at 25, you get a break but you will need to pay the $10.50 the moment you have 25 employees or by 1/1/2018.)
• California minimum salary for exempt employees increases to $43,680 per year ($3,640 per month or $840 per week). The minimum salary is based on state minimum wages, not city minimum wages. This minimum must be paid to exempt employees regardless of how few hours they may actually work.
• San Diego minimum wage increases to $11.50 per hour. This affects employees working within San Diego city limits, regardless of where your company may be located. While San Diego is the only city in San Diego county with a separate minimum wage, many other cities throughout the rest of California have minimum wage increases so please check your locality.
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mileage rates dropped slightly to 53.5 cents per mile for business, 17 cents per mile for medial or moving purposes, and 14 cents per mile in service of charitable organizations.
• AB1978 requires janitorial companies to register annually with the DLSE (Dept. of Labor Standards Enforcement) to protect janitorial employees from wage theft and sexual harassment.

Don’t forget to give hourly employees an updated CA Non-Exempt Wage Theft Prevention Notice reflecting any wage change you might make. This is also a great time to review your exempt employees to ensure you have them properly classified.