Are you paying "reporting time pay" as required by law?
Employees who report to work and are given less than their usual or scheduled day's shift normally are entitled to reporting time pay equal to half of their usual or scheduled day's shift, with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four hours required.
A new California Court of Appeal case, Price v. Starbucks, clarifies how this rule applies when an employee is called in for a meeting where she/he is to be terminated.
According to this new decision, the amount of reporting time pay owed will depend on whether the employee was scheduled to work that day or whether they were called in for a termination meeting on a day they were not scheduled to work.
* If an employee is scheduled to work on a given day and reports to work but is terminated at the beginning (or before the mid-point) of their shift, they are owed reporting time pay equal to half of their usual or scheduled day's pay.
* If an employee is not scheduled to work on a given day but is asked to come in for a meeting (at which point they are then terminated), the reporting time pay requirements are different than for those on a scheduled day of work. The court made the distinct clarification because the employee does not report to work with the expectation of working a scheduled shift, but rather is scheduled to attend a meeting for an unspecified number of hours. Therefore the employee is owed only two hours pay based on the minimum reporting time pay requirement.
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A follow-up to the OSHA Compliance HR article in June's Client Newsletter: Given the considerable amount of questions we received from Clients regarding the OSHA Compliance article published last month, we've decided it would be best to further summarize what the IIPP requires: California and OSHA requires employers to have an Illness and Injury Prevention Program (IIPP), which essentially contains a generalized plan for keeping employees free from work-related injuries and illnesses. Companies with more than 10 employees must publish the plan and make it accessible to all employees. phMainContent Basic IIPP Requirements Your plan must specify: * Management approval of the plan and the person(s) responsible for implementing it * A company safety policy statement * A system to identify workplace hazards * A plan for periodic scheduled inspections * A plan for investigating injuries * A plan for safety training * How you will communicate with employees about safety * The record keeping and posting requirements Training Requirements You must offer employee training when you: * Implement your IIPP; * Assign a new employee to a position; * Transfer an existing employee to a new position; and * Make changes to workplace conditions. Inspections You are required to carry out periodic safety inspections, although you can choose the frequency, depending on how hazardous your work environment is. Personal Protective Equipment You must supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) only if other standards, such as those governing chemical use or certain types of machinery, require you to supply equipment to protect your employees. Reporting and Recording Requirements Any injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid, and all occupational illnesses, must be investigated and recorded, and reported to your workers' compensation insurer. |