Prompted, in part, by a 2015 federal court decision which held that employers must state the total hours worked by outside sales persons, Assembly Bill 2535 amends Labor Code section 226 to further clarify the categories of workers whose wage statements need not show total hours worked.  The amendment specifies that salaried persons exempt from overtime under statute (Labor Code section 515) or an order of the Industrial Welfare Commission need not have hours included on wage statements.  In addition, the amendment lists the following categories of workers for which employers do not ...

Senate Bill 269 provides a “safe harbor”  period for some businesses to correct certain violations related to construction-related disability access under the Unruh Act.  The bill reduces fines for certain technical violations corrected within 15 days of notice or service of the complaint, whichever is earlier, and where a business has had a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) inspect the property.  In addition, lower fines apply to smaller businesses which employed 25 or fewer employees on average over past 3 years, and which have averaged gross receipts of less than $3,500,00 ...

In case you missed it, Senate Bill 501, a law which became effective on July 1, 2016, may reduce the prohibited amount of weekly disposable earnings that may be garnished depending on where the employee works.

Specifically, SB 501 adjusts the existing statutory scheme, which limits the amount of an individual judgment debtor’s weekly disposable income subject to garnishment to the lesser of 25% of the disposable earnings or the amount by which the individual’s disposal earnings exceed 40 times the state minimum wage, to now include the possibility of a higher local minimum wage ...

Beginning January 1, 2017, Assembly Bill 1245 requires that employers with 10 or more employees must file all unemployment insurance reports and returns using the e-file system. Also, these employers must remit contributions for unemployment insurance premiums by electronic funds transfer. The law will extend to all employers on January 1, 2018. Businesses without the necessary technology may be exempted, but must request a waiver.

This alert is intended to note current legal trends in commercial lending and risk management issues. No alert should be construed as representing ...

Effective July 1, 2016, Senate Bill 667 extends from 2 weeks to 60 days the period of time that an employee can reopen a disability insurance claim without having a new 7 day consecutive day waiting period of wage loss. This legislation is intended to assist employees returning to work after a 2 week or longer period of disability, who then suffer a recurrence of the same or related condition, and would have had to undergo a second 7 day waiting period before receiving benefits under current law.

This alert is intended to note current legal trends in commercial lending and risk management ...

So you think vaping is the key to reducing workplace stress? Think again. Senate Bill 5 expands no smoking prohibitions to include e-cigarettes (vaping), vaporizer carts and expands the definition of “tobacco products” to include all forms of tobacco or nicotine, except for approved cessation products, such as nicotine gum. Assembly Bill 7 expands the prohibition on smoking in the workplace to include owner-operated business, including a business where the owner is the only employee. Even though vaping equipment such as cartridges from Hamilton Devices CCELL are readily ...

The EEOC issued final rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding employer-sponsored wellness programs which require disability-related information or medical exams, as well as final rules under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), regarding all employer-sponsored wellness programs.  Employers should review the final rules, as the EEOC makes apparent that compliance with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination rules does not necessarily place an employer in compliance under the ADA or ...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued a guidance to employers regarding an employer’s obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide unpaid leave or extend a paid leave on an unpaid basis beyond its original term as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, provided no undue hardship would result for the employer.

The EEOC clearly views providing unpaid leave as an accommodation to be a significant issue that may require employers to change their usual practices when needed.  Specifically, the EEOC advises that if an ...