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SWEAT THE DETAILS Friendly Workplace Practices Audits Before PAGA Comes Calling

"Knowledge is power" is cliché, but true.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 WHISTLEBLOW ON SHOW Labor Commissioner Issues Sample Rights and Responsibilities Poster

AB 2299requires employers to "prominently display in lettering larger than size 14 point type" a list of whistleblower rights and responsibilities and thestate's reporting hotline telephone number(s). It tasked the Labor Commissioner (LC) with publishing a sample list. SeeWhat's New In 2025 Whistleblower Posting: January 1, 2025 Implementation Deadline, Updated Notice Soon Available(October 4, 2024).

AIR SCARE Cal/OSHA Wildfire Smoke Alert Worker Protection Los Angeles County and Beyond

We provide this 1/9/25 Cal/OSHA public notice:

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 91 IN THE HOT SEAT Employer Pays Big for Ignoring Extreme Conditions

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health(Cal/OSHA) haspenalizedVan Nuys' Parkwood Landscape Maintenance $276,425 for deliberately and knowingly violating state heat illness prevention regulations.

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 90 MAUL WAKE-UP CALL Cal/OSHA Fines LA Animal Shelter For Overcrowding, Staff Injuries

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health(Cal/OSHA) haspenalizedSan Pedro's Harbor Animal Services Center $563,250 for permitting overcrowding that led to worker injuries, including a May 2024 mauling and hospitalization of a supervisor.According to the LA Times, the victim was getting a dog out of its kennel to show to a rescue group when it "flipped out" and attacked her leg.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 BEHIND THE CURTAIN Employers Must Publish Results of Child Labor Audits

AB 3234, enacted to enhance transparency, requires an employer to post a website link to the child labor findings of any voluntary self-audit on workplace practices, including:

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 HIGHWAY PAY Three Cent Increase, Annual IRS Standard Mileage Rate

The Internal Revenue Service hasannouncedits 2025optional standard mileage reimbursementrate for employee business use of a personal vehicle, effective January 1, 2025, up from 67 to 70 cents/mile.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGERATES INCREASES

Effective January 1, 2025, California minimum wage will increase to$16.50per hour for all employers, regardless of size.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 WORKPLACE ROULETTE Reducing the Odds of PAGA Purgatory

"No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth." Plato