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“I have a few boxes of old employee files in my warehouse. Is it okay to just throw them out?”
Your HR Survival Tip
The documents in employee files have a required shelf life. The length of retention is often related to the laws concerning how much time an employee or entity has to make a claim and or file a lawsuit where those documents may be needed. Even when you are no longer legally required to keep the documents, attorneys suggest you keep them for the life of the company… just to be safe. This is much easier now that we can digitize those docs. However, be sure to store the digital files on a protected drive so only authorized employees can access them.
No matter what the document may be, do not destroy anything while the employee still works for you. If your managers keep separate notes or records, ask for copies if an employee’s manager is changing or leaving. Below is a very basic list of minimum retention requirements:
Recruitment, hiring, and job placement records — 3 years or longer for any claim or litigation about your hiring practices. Payroll records, including timecards, time-off accruals, schedules, [click to read more …]
“When I fire someone, I just tell them it’s not a good fit. But do I need to tell them anything?”
Your HR Survival Tip
California and several other states have an at-will employment law. This means either you or the employee can end the employment relationship at any time and for any reason, with or without notice. That’s the letter of the law. However, how it plays out in court is very different. In reality, it’s only the employee who has that much freedom.
As the employer, you really do want a reason… a legal reason… when firing someone. You also want to give the employee that reason. If you don’t, they will make up their own reason and it will likely put you in a bad light. The employee will give “their” reason when filing for unemployment, when interviewing elsewhere, and possibly when talking with an attorney. Why would you want to be in that position when it’s not necessary?
Be honest. You can usually tell if someone’s not a good fit within the first 30 days. Even then, there are specifics about why they aren’t a good fit. They don’t get along with their coworkers, they [click to read more …]
“I have two contractors that I’ve been using for quite a while. Is it true that a recent ruling might make me susceptible to a retroactive lawsuit if California doesn’t believe they are legitimate contractors?”
Your HR Survival Tip
We have seen many changes to our use of independent contractors over the past three years. California has always assumed a worker is an employee and it’s up to the company to prove otherwise. If you classify someone as a contractor and CA disagrees, it’s considered a “misclassification” with associated fines and penalties.
The standard used for many years was the Borello test that included 20 determination points, with a focus on the amount of control the company had over the contractor and their compensation. Then the CA Supreme Court introduced the ABC test in 2018 during the Dynamex case and the use of contractors was forever altered.
The ABC test focuses on classification standards under California’s wage orders. This test resulted in a very short list of acceptable uses for contractors and who qualified as a contractor. Then AB5 was passed and the door for contractors opened a bit. Proposition 22 opened the door even wider, affecting gig drivers for companies [click to read more …]
“I often hear about one government agency or another but I can’t keep it straight on who does what. Can you help?”
Your HR Survival Tip
It can be confusing but it’s also an important thing to know when you operate a business in California. While we try to provide the agency name at least once when using acronyms, not everyone does.
As you may have guessed, California has many more laws than the Federal government or its own version of laws. This means you need to be careful about the source of your information. If you hear about a legal change, you want to make sure you’ve heard California’s version of it because it’s likely to be different than the Federal version. The following may help you:
Labor Law — This is the branch of government dealing with all things about employees, such as labor law, safety and health, workers’ compensation, etc. The Feds call their agency the Department of Labor (DOL). California calls theirs the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Under the DIR is the Labor Commissioner’s Office that will (for free) help an employee get any wages due them. Civil Rights — The Feds use the U.S. Equal Employment [click to read more …]
“Why can’t I use direct deposit for a final paycheck?”
Your HR Survival Tip
The simple answer is that you usually won’t be compliant with the law. Of course, there are exceptions, based on how your payroll is processed.
When you review the legal requirements, it becomes easier to understand what you need to do. The big thing to remember is, if you are late with a final paycheck, you must keep paying the employee until you can get that final check in their hands. The Labor Commissioner is happy to help the employee get the money that’s due plus the daily penalty. Here is the timing for each situation:
Employee is fired — You must provide a final paycheck that same day. On a side note, if you have the employee come to work just to be fired, you must make sure reporting time pay has been added to that check. Reporting time pay is half their scheduled time but no less than 2 hours and no more than 4 hours. If the employee normally works an 8-hour day, their reporting time pay must be 4 hours.Employee has resigned — You must provide a final paycheck on the last day [click to read more …]
Tuesday, 1/26/2021, 9-10 a.m.$49 for 1-Hour Live Webinar Is This Webinar for You? YES, if you will be subject to this law (5+ employees). YES, if you want to learn to manage leaves yourself (instead of paying us). About this Webinar
This training is designed for companies with 5 or more employees anywhere… who also have employees working in California. The revisions to California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA) are now in effect so you need to be prepared to manage your first leave of absence. Join us to learn how you can manage CFRA leaves yourself.
Learn what is legally required to be in writing.Be able to plan the deadlines for documents and return to work.Learn our method for tracking a leave.Notification templates and our tracking tool will be provided.
Presented by Candi Freed, Senior HR Consultant with HR Jungle LLC.
[click to read more …]
“My business is slower to return than expected and I have too many employees. How do I reduce my headcount?”
Your HR Survival Tip
Your employee costs are often one of your highest line items, depending on the type of business you have. It’s important to know exactly how much you spend per employee overall so you can make good decisions about when you should increase or reduce the number of employees.
There are several types of terminations but they each have a specific use. Many companies like to use “layoff” because it feels softer to them. However, your choice could potentially result in legal obligations for you so you really do want to choose the type of termination that fits your scenario.
Layoff – When you use layoff as your reason, the expectation is you will rehire the employee once business picks back up or you again have need of the position. You provide a final paycheck that includes any earned, unused vacation or PTO time. The employee is eligible for unemployment. Furlough – We rarely saw this used prior to the pandemic. It is almost exactly the same as a layoff except they remain an employee on your records. [click to read more …]
“I’d like to implement a plan that rewards employees for recommending people they know to our company. What do I need to consider?”
Your HR Survival Tip
Employee referral plans can be a huge benefit to your company and for your employees. When a current employee recommends someone to apply, they want the reward. As a side benefit to you, they often feel responsible for the success of that person and won’t recommend people they think might make them look bad.
When planning to offer a referral bonus, there are more things to consider than you might think:
What is the value of receiving a recommendation from an employee? Recruiting time and money can often cost you far more than paying a referral bonus. We see plans paying $300-$1000, depending upon the position. When does the current employee receive the bonus? Consider how long it takes a new hire to start doing well in the job. Or look at your turnover and determine when most of it happens. If you have a lot of turnover in the first three months, then you want to wait until after that to pay out any bonus. What process needs to be in [click to read more …]
Governor Newsom signed SB1383 and dramatically changed protected time off as we know it. On January 1, 2021, companies of 5 or more employees will be subject to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The CA Chamber of Commerce had declared this a job killer bill and it definitely proves politicians don’t understand the challenges smaller employers face.
CFRA is very similar to FMLA (Federal Medical Leave Act) but includes a few more benefits for the employee than the Federal law. Starting 1/1/2021, the following differences will be in effect:
Affected companies:FMLA = companies with 50+ employees;CFRA = CA companies with 5+ employees. Employee’s employment:Both = employed at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours during that period. Location size:FMLA = 50+ employees within 75 miles;CFRA = 5+ total anywhere. Amount of time off:Both = up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected time off. Reasons:Both = care for yourself or a family member with a serious health condition, pregnancy, new baby bonding (or foster or adoption), and various military reasons. Family member:FMLA = child (minor or a dependent), spouse, and parent;CFRA = those listed under FMLA plus siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partners, adult children, and [click to read more …]
“I finally received my PPP (Payroll Protection Program) funds but I am finding it hard to get employees to return to work. Unemployment is either paying them more than they earned each week with me or at least enough so they’d rather not work for nearly the same money. What can I do?”
Your HR Survival Tip
You’re not alone with this particular dilemma! We have heard the same thing from several clients. Even those companies that don’t have PPP money but are ready to slowly start back up are having similar problems. However, the PPP money requires you to maintain a certain headcount for the funds to be forgiven so you may have to make a hard decision about those employees.
Employees First
Employees are often making more on unemployment right now due to the extra $600 they are getting each week. You could sympathize with their desire to receive more money right now and allow them to stay on unemployment. However, please keep in mind they are turning down work and therefore, legally, are committing fraud by continuing on unemployment… where they are attesting they are “willing and able to work” each week. You might [click to read more …]
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