Senate Bill 501 changes the amount of an employee’s weekly earnings that would be exempt from a wage garnishment order in California. Currently the amount subject to garnishment cannot exceed the lesser of 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings and the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for the week exceed 40 times the state minimum wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. Beginning on July 1, 2016, the maximum amount subject to garnishment will change to the lesser of 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings for the week or 50% of the amount by ...

Assembly Bill 1509 amends sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 6310 of the California Labor Code by extending certain retaliatory protections afforded to employees to their family members who work for the same employer. Under existing law, employers are prohibited from discharging an employee or taking an adverse action against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant has engaged in protected conduct, such as filing a written complaint with a government agency based on employment conditions. Effective January 1, 2016, such retaliatory protections will ...

By amending sections 558, 1197, and 1197.1 of the California Labor Code, Assembly Bill 970 authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate and, at the request of local government, enforce local laws regarding overtime hours or minimum wage provisions. The Labor Commissioner may issue citations and penalties for violations, except when local government has already issued a citation for the same violation. In addition, AB 970 amends section 2802 of the California Labor Code by authorizing the Labor Commissioner to issue citations and penalties to employers for violating the ...

Assembly Bill 622, which takes effect on January 1, 2016, adds section 2814 to the California Labor Code. Section 2814 prohibits employers from using E-Verify to check the employment authorization status of an existing employee or an applicant who has not been offered employment, except as required by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds. Furthermore, upon using the E-Verify system, if the employer receives a tentative non-confirmation issued by the Social Security Administration or the United States Department of Homeland Security which indicates the ...

QUESTION: The last Ask the Receiver article discussed whether, in federal court, an order approving a receiver’s sale of assets is appealable. While the discussion was interesting, it was not too helpful to me because I am a state court receiver. What is the rule in California state court? Are orders approving a receiver’s sale appealable?

ANSWER: As the prior Ask the Receiver article indicated, in federal court the appealability of orders in a receivership are limited to three types of orders: (1) orders appointing a receiver; (2) orders refusing to windup a receivership; and ...

Effective upon signing, Assembly Bill 1506 amends the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, commonly known as “PAGA”, in a manner that should benefit employers and employees alike and reduce lengthy litigation. Among other things, PAGA permits employees to bring civil actions for violations of California Labor Code section 226(a)(6) and (8), which require an employer to provide its employees with specified information regarding their wages, including the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid and the name and address of the legal entity that is the ...

Assembly Bill 304 was enacted on an emergency basis shortly after California’s paid sick leave law, known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, became effective on July 1, 2015. There were good reasons for the amendment: the paid sick leave law was confusing and difficult to implement. Effective immediately, AB 304 seeks to clarify some aspects of the sick leave law and provides employers with greater options regarding implementation. Specifically, AB 304 permits employers to use a sick leave accrual rate other than the one hour for every 30 hours worked rate ...

Senate Bill 579 expands Labor Code Section 230.8, providing additional circumstances under which employers with 25 or more employees must provide school or child care activities leave. Beginning January 1, 2016, employees may take leave of up to 40 hours per year, not to exceed eight hours per month, to find, enroll and re-enroll a child in school or with a licensed child care provider, and to handle certain child care emergencies and school emergencies that prohibit the child from attending or require that the child be picked up from school. The leave will extend to a parent ...

QUESTION: I purchased assets from a receiver. The court approved the sale over the objection of one of the defendants. The sale has now closed. I was just informed that the defendant is appealing the order approving the sale. Can the defendant set aside the sale to me or am I safe?

ANSWER: In United States v. Antiques Limited Partnership, 760 F.3d 668 (7th Cir. 2014), the federal government sued to enforce tax assessments against a husband and wife and partnerships they controlled to which they transferred property. A receiver was appointed to manage the partnerships and to sell their ...

Effective January 1, 2016, Assembly Bill 1513 establishes Labor Code Section 226.2, which requires that employers paying piece-rate compensation must pay employees for rest and recovery periods and other nonproductive time separately from any piece-rate compensation, and that wage statements reflect these payments. The hourly rate paid for rest and recovery periods must be the greater of the applicable minimum wage, or the employee’s average hourly wage for all time worked excluding rest and recovery periods or overtime, and the rate paid for other nonproductive time must ...