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BestHR Solutions for Management
Winter 2011-2012 Volume 82 Published by: JorgensenHR
Editors: Deborah Hildebrand and Vera Mae Walsh
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Happy 2012 from Linda Harris
President JorgensenHR
With the arrival of 2012, I want to take a moment to thank our clients for the opportunity
to work with you. We are honored that you have put your trust in JorgensenHR and are happy that we could be of service to you.
2011 has been a busy year with many new state and federal laws becoming
effective in 2012. We have included several in our journal, however these are just a
few that may impact you.
Take a moment to read through them, if you have any questions please contact our office,
we will be more than happy to answer any questions.
We hope your holidays were happy and wish you a prosperous New Year;
and look forward to continuing to work with you in 2012.
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Top New CALIFORNIA Laws for 2012
Governor Brown signed nearly two dozen bills into law recently. While many may affect you as an employer, here is a brief overview of some of the most important changes that take effect
January 1, 2012 (unless otherwise specified).
AB 22: Employers may not use credit reports for applicant or employment purposes, except in limited circumstances such as for a managerial position or handling confidential/proprietary information.
AB 592: Formal recognition that it is an unlawful employment practice to interfere with any right provided to an employee under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) or Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law.
AB 887: Further defines "gender" under the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include both gender identity and "gender expression." Gender expression is defined as "a person's gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth."
AB 1236: Prohibits the state or a city, county, or special district from requiring an employer other than these listed government entities to use an electronic employment verification system (E-Verify) except when required by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds.
AB 1396: Requires employers to have written agreements of employment by January 1, 2013, when employees are paid on commission.
SB 299: Makes it unlawful to refuse to maintain and pay for insurance coverage for an employee who is on Pregnancy Disability Leave under the same conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment during PDL leave.
SB 459: Provides new penalties for misclassifying independent contractors "willfully." Imposes joint liability on non-attorney outside consultants who knowingly advise an employer to treat an individual as an independent contractor to avoid employee status.
SB 559: Prohibits genetic information discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act and Unruh Civil Rights Act.
SB 757: Prohibits group health insurance plans or policies from discriminating in coverage between spouses or domestic partners of a different sex and spouses or domestic partners of the same sex.
In addition, there were several laws related to wage penalties that increase or clarify employer obligations and allow employees further wage recovery for underpayment of wages. For further questions or details concerning these or any other employment laws and how they relate to your business, please contact JorgensenHR at (661) 600-2070.
Source: AALRR Alert
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Bone Marrow Leave Clarification Bill Signed by Governor
SB 272: provides employers with the needed clarity and certainty as to how this leave should be implemented, so that employers can comply with this leave requirement and minimize any risk of litigation.
SB 1304: enacted in 2010, requires employers to provide employees with paid leave of either five days for bone marrow donation or 30 days for organ donation, within a one-year period. Given the ambiguity with some of the terms utilized in SB 1304, California employers were uncertain how this paid leave should be implemented.
- Clarifies that the one-year period referenced in the statute is 12 consecutive months from the date of the employee's request for leave, not a calendar year.
- Confirms that the days of leave are business days, as opposed to calendar days. Additionally, SB 272 provides certainty that the benefits of an employee must be maintained at the same level during the paid leave, as if he/she had continued to work during that period.
- Specifies that employers that have a paid time off (PTO) program, rather than sick leave and vacation leave, can require that an employee take up to five days of PTO as a part of the employee's leave.
Source: California Chamber of Commerce
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New Notice of Pay Details
Effective January 1, 2012, a new law (AB 469) requires employers to provide at the time of hire, a notice to nonexempt employees, that specifies: - The rate of pay and the basis, whether hourly, salary, piece commission or otherwise, including any overtime rate
- Allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meal and lodging allowances
- The regular pay day designated by the employer as required under the Labor Code
- The name of the employer, including any "doing business as" names
- The physical address of the employer's main office or principal place of business and any mailing address, if different
- The telephone number of the employer
- The name, address and telephone number of the employer's workers' compensation carrier
Additionally, if there is any change to the information in the notice, the employer must notify each employee, in writing, within seven calendar days of the changes either by providing a written amendment, a new notice or via their paycheck stub, if that information is contained therein. Though this law only applies to non-exempt employees, if there is ever a question of misclassification it could raise concern over when this notice was due. As a good practice, employers may want to provide the notice to exempt employees as a well. Additionally, the law requires the Labor Commissioner to prepare a template and make it available. This template, Notice to Employee Labor Code Section 2810.5 is now available at California Department of Industrial Relations. Source: HR California Extra |
| NLRB New Poster Requirement Deadline Moved to April 30, 2012
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it is postponing the start date requiring employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The new posting requirement now takes effect on April 30, 2012.
Source: California Chamber of Commerce
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| New 2012 Exempt Classification Rates
California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced rate changes on exemptions for computer software employees and licensed physicians. The new rates take effect January 1, 2012.
For computer software employees, the minimum hourly rate of pay exemption increased to $38.89, the minimum monthly salary increased to $6,752.19 and the minimum annual salary exemption increased to $81,026.25. For licensed physicians or surgeons, the minimum hourly rate of pay exemption increased to $70.86.
Source: California Chamber of Commerce
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JorgensenHR
28494 Westinghouse Place, Suite 212
Valencia, California 91355
Licensed Private Investigator #23947
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