Blog

WHAT'S NEW IN 2024 MINIMUM LIFE SUPPORT Health Care Facility Pay Hikes Take Effect October 16, 2024

Aspreviously reported, recently enacted Labor Code sections1182.14and1182.15substantially increase minimum wage for workers in various health care facilities, eventually raising the rate to $25/hour, superseding local minimum wage laws.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 UPDATED WORKERS COMPENSATION POSTING Employers Must Advise Injured Workers of Right to Consult an Attorney

California Labor Code 3550 requires employers to prominently display aNotice to Employees-Injuries Caused by Work(the Notice) on:

BOO YAH! ... NAH! Defining "Fun" for Workplace Halloween

With the proper guidelines in place, a workplace Halloween party can build teamwork and morale.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2025 WHISTLEBLOWER POSTING

California employers must prominently display a workplace whistleblowers' rights and responsibilities notice.

ELECTION ALERT Voting Rights Notices, Possible Paid Time Off

Election Code 14000requires an employer to provide an employee either beginning or end of shift time off to vote in a statewide election if that person cannot otherwise do so outside work hours. The company must pay for up to two hours of that voting time.

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 89 WAGE THEFT NOT SO DEFT Restaurant Franchisee Must Pay $1.7 Million to 550 Employees

The California Labor Commissioner's Office (LCO) has obtained a $1.7 million settlement from a Bakersfield-based Wingstop restaurant franchisee on behalf of 550 employees.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 44 GET-AWAY TIME Personal Leaves of Absence

California regularly expands the already long list of unpaidrequiredleaves of absence, during which the employer must hold the worker's position open pending return. These include pregnancy, family/medical, disability leaves, and many more. See, for example,Handbook Helper Episode 38; Bereavement Leave Policy(September 21, 2023).

MUNCHED FOR LUNCH No Break for Paying Employees' Meal Times

If an employer is looking for any slack for inadvertent errors in its pay practices, California's highly technical meal and rest break rules offer no sympathy. In this state's overheated climate of class action litigation, just a few seemingly minor violations of these standards can mean hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in potential liabilities. See,Trust Me, I'm a Lawyer - Mass Employment Litigation is No Fun(August 30, 2024).

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 88 SUNBURNED National Raisin to Pay Big for Sexual Harassment of Seasonal Female Workers

National Raisin will pay $2 million and its co-employer Select Staffing $500,000to settle sexual harassment allegationsbrought bythe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC).