Yesterday, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed a local ordinance that requires San Francisco employers to compensate eligible employees while taking paid family leave (“PFL”) to bond with a new child. The New PFL Benefit Under existing California law, the State already pays eligible employees 55% of their prior salary while on baby-bonding PFL. Under… Read More
Posts Categorized In: Employment Law Advice & Counsel
Governor Brown Signs AB 908 Increasing Paid Family Leave Benefits
Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 908 (“AB 908”). This new bill increases the amount of weekly benefits payable to employees who take leave under California’s existing paid family lave law. California’s existing paid family leave law allows an employee to request paid leave to care for a family member with a “serious… Read More
New Regulations on Sexual Harassment Take Effect Today
The California Fair Employment & Housing Council (FEHC) recently passed new regulations that strengthen California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA). This is the state law banning discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace, which is already among the toughest in the nation. These new regulations take effect on April 1, 2016. Under the new… Read More
New Pregnancy Disability Leave Regulations Take Effect Today
The California Fair Employment & Housing Council (FEHC) recently passed new regulations concerning pregnancy disability leave (PDL). These new regulations take effect on April 1, 2016. Under the new regulations, California employers with 5 or more employees must: 1. Provide employees with notice of their PDL rights either (a) in the next version of the… Read More
California Raises Minimum Wage to $15/Hour
California Governor Jerry Brown announced that a deal had been reached with the California legislature to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. This would give California the highest state-wide minimum wage in the country. Under the new law, the state minimum wage will increase from the current $10 an… Read More
California DFEH Issues Guidance on Transgender Workers
On February 17, 2016, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) issued new guidelines on transgender rights in the workplace. While most of these guidelines are common sense based on existing law, there are some concrete recommendations in the DFEH’s new brochure, including: 1. Employers should not ask about an applicant’s or employee’s… Read More
U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Guidance on Joint Employment
Yesterday, the United States Department of Labor (DoL) issued new guidance on joint employment — that is, when more than one business is involved in the work being performed by a particular employee. This is an increasingly common phenomenon in today’s economy, especially in the construction, agricultural, janitorial, logistics, staffing, and hospitality industries. Employers in… Read More
Governor Brown Signs SB 588, Adding Tough Enforcement Measures to California’s Wage Theft Law
Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 588, known as the “California Fair Day’s Pay Act.” This new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2016, aims to crack down on “wage theft” in California by giving the Labor Commissioner tough new enforcement rights against employers who steal employees’ wages. What is Wage Theft? Wage… Read More
Governor Brown Signs SB 358, the “California Fair Pay Act”
Earlier today Governor Brown signed SB 358 known as the “California Fair Pay Act.” This new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2016, gives California the strongest equal pay law in the nation. SB 358 amends California Labor Code §1197.5 to “close the gaps” in the state’s existing equal pay law. Specifically, SB 358:… Read More
Governor Brown Signs AB 1506, Giving Employers an Opportunity to Cure Certain PAGA Violations
On October 2, 2015, Governor Brown signed AB 1506 which amends California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) to allow employers the cure certain pay stub violations which otherwise could have triggered PAGA liability. Under existing California law, an employer must present each employee with an itemized pay stub that includes all the required information —… Read More