Check Your List

Over the next month, there are several things you should have on your list to confirm everything is still right in your world. It’s easy to let time go by if you haven’t put reminders on your calendar. Are you missing any of the following on your list?

• Hiring Interns — Schools are getting out and companies are bringing on interns. If your intern will be getting training from you and school credit for the work, it’s possible they could be unpaid but be sure to talk with their school about it to confirm. If you will be paying your intern at least minimum wage, they are treated like any other new employee and given work that benefits you more than the intern.


• Unpaid Help — Only registered non-profits are legally able to have unpaid workers and volunteers. Otherwise, plan to pay that person at least minimum wage. This isn’t a worker’s choice, your company will be the only one financially responsible for the misclassification.


• Minimum Wage Increases — The minimum wage in several localities changes on July 1st. These include Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, Emeryville, San Francisco, and Pasadena. The state minimum wage was supposed to increase to $15.00/hour on 1/1/2023 but there are rumors it will actually be $15.50 so prepare for a bigger bump than we’ve seen.


• CalSavers — You only have until June 30th to get registered with CalSavers if you don’t already have another approved retirement plan in your company. Check their website for details on how to upload your employees and set up the deductions in payroll.


• COVID-19 — The third readoption of California’s COVID standards now runs through the end of 2022. We are required to provide COVID pay for up to 40 hours if someone (or someone in their family) has COVID symptoms. The employee must show a positive COVID test on Day 5 to be eligible for a second week’s pay. This year, neither the state nor the Feds are offering companies any reimbursements or tax breaks on the money paid out.


• Wage Statements — This is a good time to take a hard look at your pay stubs (wage statements) and confirm the company information is still correct, all deduction codes are easy to understand, and accruals are correct.

Many companies are still struggling to get everything done due to the lack of available workers. This means some things slip between the cracks but the cost of ignoring your compliance can carry a heavy cost.