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DON'T HIDE THE BALL

California requires employers to provide an accurate, itemized statement with each wage payment or twice monthly. Labor Code226(a)specifies wage statement contents, such as ● employer's name and address; ● employee's name; ● last four digits of employee's social security number or other suitable identifying number; ● hours worked; ● pay rates; and ● gross and net wages earned. See,Ignore at Your Own Peril - Overlooked Pay Stub Requirements Can Lead to Trouble(February 23, 2018).

EASY DOES IT - TAKE TWO

Last November,Cal/OSHArequired nearly all employers to implement an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program (Model CPP) pursuant to mandatory emergency temporary standards (ETS).

YOU'RE GETTING HOTTER

Heat illness is a serious, potentially fatal condition resulting from the body's inability to cope with heat. The two main types areheat exhaustion(e.g., dizziness, headache, sweaty skin, fast heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and/or cramps) andheat stroke(e.g., red, hot dry skin, high body temperature, confusion, fainting and/or convulsions).

UPDATE CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 42A PAGA MONSTER QUELLED … FOR NOW

Under theCalifornia Private Attorney General Act(PAGA), current or former employees can sue employers in a “representative” capacity for alleged Labor Code violations. PAGA claims, filed by employees when the state declines to do so, seek civil penalties to be shared 75 percent for the state of California and 25 percent between the plaintiff and other employees.

EASY DOES IT

Last November,Cal/OSHAissued mandatory emergency temporary standards (ETS) to prevent the workplace spread of COVID-19. The standards applied to most California workers not covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATS) standard. SeeWhat’s New in 2021 – Infection Prevention Direction Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards(February 5, 2021).

WORKPLACES RETURN, BUT NOT HOME YET

On June 15, Governor Newson hasterminatedthe March, 2020 “stay at home” and May, 2020 “blueprint for safer economy” executive orders that had imposed an all-county tier severity system for physical distancing, business capacity, and other limitations.

PROVE IT

California employers must provide each not-exempt-from-overtime employee off-duty rest breaks based on the number of hours that employee works in a given day. An employer who fails to do so must pay the worker one additional hour of pay (i.e., premium pay) in that employee’s next paycheck. SeeIndustrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Orders,Labor Code Section 226.7(c)andRequired Meal Periods and Rest Breaks Revisited(April, 2018).

CALIFORNIA SUMMER MINIMUM WAGE RATE INCREASES

California minimum wageis currently $14.00/hour for larger employers (26 or more employees) and $13.00/hour for employers with 25 or fewer. The final 2016Senate Bill (SB) 3increase to $15.00/hour will occur on January 1, 2022 for larger employers and January 1, 2023 for the rest. SeeCalifornia’s Gradual Increases in Minimum Wage, to Reach $15.00 Per Hour by January 1, 2022(April, 2016).

PLEASE: DOCUMENT WORKPLACE MEAL BREAKS

With certain exceptions for specific industries, occupations, and limited situations, CaliforniaLabor Code 512and theIndustrial Wage Commission Wage Ordersrequire employers to provide non-exempt employees with a minimum 30-minute off-duty meal break starting before the end of the fifth hour of work. Employers must provide a second off-duty minimum 30-minute meal break for shifts greater than 10 hours. (“Non-exempt” means not exempt from overtime pay.)