Raise Them Up

“I know the new minimum wage goes into effect on January 1st but does it change anything else?”

Your HR Survival Tip

California’s minimum wage sees another increase on January 1st in 2019 and 2020 and 2021, etc. However, that’s just the state minimum wage. Many of you may be subject to local laws that are higher or on a different schedule than the state law. San Diego, for example, will increase to $12.00 for anyone working within San Diego city limits.

The new minimum wage in California will be $11.00 (if you have no more than 25 employees) or $12.00 (if you have 26+ employees). Companies with no more than 25 employees will continue to be $1.00 behind larger companies until 2025 when all sizes will be paying $15.00/hour.

One thing the state law affects (and the local laws don’t) is the minimum salary you’re allowed to pay and have someone eligible as salaried exempt. Only the state law applies and it is a calculation based on the state minimum wage of [2 X state minimum wage X 2080]. No matter how few or how many hours your salaried exempt person works, they must be making at least $45,760  [click to read more …]

Signed Into Law

HR Jungle

We know you’ve been anxiously awaiting news of which bills have been signed into law this year. Wait no longer, the following list provides the highlights:

Your HR Survival Tip SB1343 expands sexual harassment training requirements. By 1/1/20, all companies with 5 or more employees will have to provide all employees with training. Supervisory employees must attend a 2-hour training and non-supervisory employees must attend a 1-hour training. We are expecting the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to provide videos and written materials for this training. SB1252 clarifies a current law that provides current and former employees with the right to inspect or copy pay records. The difference is you must provide the copy rather than requiring the employee to make a copy. You can still charge a per page copying fee. SB1412 updates the “ban the box” law regarding criminal history inquiries when interviewing and on applications. The change defines more clearly, and limits, what exceptions are allowed. Don’t jump up and down in excitement… this clarification only relates to positions that legally require a background check. SB1123 adds to the Paid Family Leave by, in 2021, allowing the pay benefits to also be used for time off  [click to read more …]

Planning Ahead

HR Jungle

Companies often seem surprised when a new law goes into effect that affects them. However, governments aren’t that efficient. It takes months to review and pass a bill into law and the effective date is often several months later. It’s just a question of whether or not you were paying attention all those months to see which bills were thrown out and which were moved forward.

Timing is different when a judge has made a decision in court. A court decision will immediately change behavior and become the basis for more lawsuits. While a judge’s decision isn’t new “law,” it carries a lot of weight in future lawsuits and decisions. Generally, attorneys will immediately consider a court decision as the way things should be going forward in how we implement or maintain compliance with a law.

An example of a court decision was the California Supreme Court’s ruling on independent contractors early this year. Soon after the Court published it’s decision, new lawsuits were filed based on that ruling. As evidenced by the number of companies changing independent contractors into employees, the effect was immediate.

New laws passed have a specific effective date so we can prepare for them. A  [click to read more …]

Pregnancy Leave – Part 1

The law and processes about pregnancy leave are often misunderstood and a concern with smaller employers. This is part 1 of 2 articles that will, hopefully, answer many of your questions.

Your HR Survival Tip

A pregnancy is treated the same as any other medical disability and, for that reason, everything is tied to a doctor’s note. In California, this is the most protected leave we have, over time they have closed all the loopholes. You are subject to this law when you have 5 or more employees, counting the owner(s).

Upon hearing an employee is pregnant, the company should provide the employee the following:

Pregnancy Disability Leave notice Pregnancy Disability Leave brochure State Disability Insurance brochure Paid Family Leave brochure

Doctor’s notes help protect the employee because it keeps the absences under the pregnancy-related disability. Therefore, if the employee misses work due to morning sickness or any other reason remotely tied to a real or perceived pregnancy, a doctor’s note is needed. The doctor should be asking the company to accommodate these absences. You want the doctor’s note even if the employee has ample sick/PTO time available due to the protections. If your employee is coming in late, etc.  [click to read more …]

New Independent Contractor Ruling

“I have a bookkeeping company and use independent contractors to service my clients. These are usually part-time people working from home. Does the new court decision change how I do this?”

Your HR Survival Tip

The California Superior Court recently issued a ruling about a delivery company’s truck drivers who were classified as independent contractors. This court ruling was specific to these drivers being eligible as part of a class action lawsuit but it may be the start of changing the qualifiers for independent contractors in general.

In the past, the Borello test was used and looked at numerous factors when EDD was deciding if someone was an independent contractor (IC). This new ruling used only three items in their test. These aren’t new but it does add focus:

The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring company in connection with the performance of the work. — Often a company wants to provide training, lock down work hours, or have other forms of control that aren’t allowed when using ICs. The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of your business. — If you have a bookkeeping company, you can’t use ICs to provide  [click to read more …]

Timely Payment

“I’m not sure I have enough money available to make payroll next week. Can I pay my employees later, after a client pays a big invoice?”

Your HR Survival Tip

No! Absolutely not! If you don’t think you’ll be able to pay them completely AND on time, have them stop working immediately.

California is very clear and very protective about employees being paid in full and at exactly the same time every pay period. Of course there are laws about this:

The employee must receive their pay within 7 days of the time worked. For example, if you are paying every 2 weeks, you only have 7 calendar days after that 2-week period ends to get a check in their hand. If you are using semi-monthly pay periods (twice per month) of 1-15 and 16-last day, the latest you can pay is the 26th and 10th, respectively. If your semi-monthly pay periods are on another schedule, such as 10-26 and 27-9, you must pay within 7 calendar days. You must post your pay day and the rules about it. If the pay day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, you may pay the next business day. However, you need  [click to read more …]