January 12, 2021
This past year saw the enactment of a variety of new employment laws in California, including new disclosure requirements for employers and changes to the independent contractor landscape. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has touched nearly every sector of society, in nearly every corner of the world, and employment law in California is certainly no exception. The pandemic has ushered in a new legal landscape marked by heightened requirements for employers stretching from 2020 into 2023.
Below, we outline four new laws that require attention from California employers in the new year: (1) the new requirements for California employers in reporting wage and hour data; (2) the continuing evolution of the worker classification standard and the recent passage of Proposition 22; (3) the new COVID-19 notice requirements that will require employers to notify employees of possible exposure; and (4) the new Workers’ Compensation Disputable Presumption under SB 1159. We a
2021 California Employment Law Roundup Tuesday, December 22, 2020
As 2021 is quickly approaching, employers in California are reminded to make any necessary changes to their policies due to the expansion of the California Family Rights Act and other new legislation. We have set forth below a brief summary of some of the key new laws impacting many California employers in 2021.
SB 1383 – Expansion of California Family Rights Act
The current California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), modeled largely after the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide protected leave rights to employees with at least one year of service, who have worked at least 1,250 hours during the past 12 months, and who are employed at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. However, effective January 1, 2021, SB 1383 eliminates the requirement that employees work at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles
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In the spirit of the season and keeping some semblance of normal we are using our annual 12 days of the holidays blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this eighth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: eight maids a-milking and AB 2257.
Deemed an emergency statute, AB 2257 went into effect immediately upon the Governor s signature on September 4, 2020. Focusing on worker classification, the bill provides additional exemptions to AB 5, which concerned the classification of independent contractors.
Last year, AB 5 went into effect and codified what is known as the ABC test a 3-part test used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor delineated in
The worksite’s NAICS code.
The employer will be required to continue notifying the local health department of any subsequent laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the workplace.
New Authority for OSHA
Effective January 1, 2021, and until January 1, 2023, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health will have the authority to determine whether a worksite or any part thereof exposes workers to COVID-19 such that it creates an “imminent hazard.” In response to an “imminent hazard,” it may prohibit operations at or entry to that worksite at the immediate area in which the hazard exists by posting a notice to the employer in a conspicuous place. The provision is not to be used in a manner that would interrupt the performance of critical government functions essential to ensuring public health and safety functions or the delivery of electrical power or water. However, there are no other carve-outs.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
2020 has been an unprecedented year in many ways, but one thing that remains constant is the legislature s enactment of new laws that impact employers. Ranging from Covid-19 legislation to revisions to worker classification laws, new reporting requirements, and mandatory additions to boards of directors, below you will find our annual 2021 Employment Law Update.
NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR COVID-19 EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021
On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 685, which will go into effect on January 1, 2021. It requires employers whose employees may have been exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace to notify their employees accordingly and report to local health officials. The new law also allows OSHA to order a facility closed if it deems the potential for COVID-19 infection an “imminent hazard” for employees at that facility. OSHA will also be able to issue “serious violation” citations for COVID-19 without fi