California Wage & Hour Attorneys

12/31/2024

Here are some employment laws that will take effect in California in 2025:

Minimum wage: The state minimum wage will increase to $16.50 per hour for all employers. Exempt employees will need to earn a minimum of $68,640 annually.

Agricultural employee sick leave: Agricultural employees can use paid sick leave to avoid working in conditions created by a local or state emergency, such as smoke, heat, or flooding.

Retaliation: The Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act (SB-497) creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer takes action within 90 days of an employee's protected activity.

Captive audience meetings: SB 399 restricts employers' ability to hold mandatory captive audience meetings with employees.

Independent contractor requirements: New requirements will be in place for independent contractors.

Leave rights: Expanded leave rights will be available to victims of violence.

Whistleblower rights: Employers must update policies to reflect changes to whistleblower rights.

Driver's license requirements: Employers must update policies to reflect changes to driver's license requirements.

FEHA applicability: Employers must update policies to reflect changes to FEHA applicability.

If you have questions about how these new laws impact your employment, give us a call at 805-845-9630. We always offer free consultations.

03/13/2023

Equal Pay Day is tomorrow, Tuesday March 14. The 2023 report by the Equal Rights Advocates indicates that the wage gap for U.S. women working full-time, year-round sits at 84 cents for every dollar paid to the average man. The gap is even worse for many women of color working full-time compared to the average white man: 67 cents for Black women, 65 cents for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women, and 57 cents for both Latina and Native American women. At this rate, the average American woman stands to lose nearly half a million dollars over the course of her working years.
The Equal Rights Advocates (“ERA”) have put together a social media toolkit for everyone to use, making it easy to show your support. Since 1974, the ERA has been fighting for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and, more recently, people of all gender identities. You can find links to the toolkit and other instructions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1unYMT-rdYx40bmbK5pH1luexxzrI708BzCKsqlPe8Ps/edit (copied below).

EQUAL PAY DAY TOOLKIT

March 14th, 2023 | National Social Media Storm 11am PST/2pm EST
Join advocates, lawmakers, and community members from across the country to raise awareness about the wage gap that impacts women and their families! For every $1 a man makes, women who work full-time, year-round earn on average only 84 cents. And for all earners (including part-time and part-year seasonal workers trying to piece together enough to get by) they only earn 77 cents on average as compared to men.

How to use this toolkit: Copy + paste sample social from our partner organizations to post on your own social media pages! Easily download graphics for the corresponding posts by clicking here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AxYE2h3P8ymseYbqiFXv_etabpVeoCCW

Please use the hashtag
Additional hashtags -
Tell Congress: It's beyond time for in our country. The will help end pay discrimination for women. Tell your Rep. to support this bill so women—especially women of color—are paid what they're owed! Use this link: https://actnow.io/1T9tIlM%20

05/12/2020

Has your employer violated your rights during and -19? Give us a call to see if we can be of assistance.

While Amazon proves to be a valuable resource for many Americans, particularly in the time of COVID-19, workers at the company are calling for safer conditions and better benefits.

04/21/2020

The latest information on when you'll receive your CHECK:

If the IRS has your direct deposit information on file: the week ending April 17.
Paper checks for people with up to $10,000 in AGI: the week ending April 24.
Between $10,000 AGI and $20,000 AGI: the week ending May 1.
Between $20,000 AGI and $30,000 AGI: the week ending May 8.
Between $30,000 AGI and $40,000 AGI: the week ending May 15.
Between $40,000 AGI and $50,000 AGI: the week ending May 22.
Between $50,000 AGI and $60,000 AGI: the week ending May 29.
Between $60,000 AGI and $70,000 AGI: the week ending June 5.
Between $70,000 AGI and $80,000 AGI: the week ending June 12.
Between $80,000 AGI and $90,000 AGI: the week ending June 19.
Between $90,000 AGI and $100,000 AGI: the week ending June 26.
Between $100,000 AGI and $110,000 AGI: the week ending July 3.
Between $110,000 AGI and $120,000 AGI: the week ending July 10.
Between $120,000 AGI and $130,000 AGI: the week ending July 17.
Between $130,000 AGI and $140,000 AGI: the week ending July 24.
Between $140,000 AGI and $150,000 AGI: the week ending July 31.
Between $150,000 AGI and $160,000 AGI: the week ending Aug. 7.
Between $160,000 AGI and $170,000 AGI: the week ending Aug. 14.
Between $170,000 AGI and $180,000 AGI: the week ending Aug. 21.
Between $180,000 AGI and $190,000 AGI: the week ending Aug. 28.
Between $190,000 AGI and $198,000 AGI: the week ending Sept. 4.
All other checks (e.g., those who didn't have tax info on file): the week ending Sept. 11.

04/09/2020

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES NEW ACT GUIDANCE ON INSURANCE FOR STATES IN RESPONSE TO -19 CRISIS

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

04/06/2020

Coronavirus Relief Checks are reported to be coming via direct-deposit in a few days for eligible tax payers who have filed their 2019 or 2018 taxes and provided direct deposit information.

A married couple making less than $150k per year claiming 2 kids under age 17 should receive an automatic direct deposit of $3400.

Link to free Washington Post calculator and information:

Over 80 percent of American adults will receive a payment.

04/01/2020

-19 and Updates

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is a brand new program. The EDD will be working to serve unemployed Californians, including the self-employed.

For faster processing, read How to Set Up a UI Online Account (DE 2338H) (PDF) to help you apply for benefits. You can find the information here:https://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2338h.pdf

For help completing the application, call your local America’s Job Center of CaliforniaSM to schedule a phone appointment with an EDD representative. Contact information can be found here: https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/AmericanJobCenters/find-american-job-centers.aspx

It may take at least three weeks to process a claim for unemployment benefits and issue payment to most eligible workers, so act quickly.

CareerOneStop

03/23/2020

Helpful employee benefit infirmation for those impacted by .

State of California

02/15/2020

Forced to work off the clock pre- or -post shift? We can help. Give us a call toll free to discuss (877) 865-9630. Free consultation.

A group of Apple workers filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were required to submit to searches before leaving the stores but were not compensated for the time those searches required.

01/17/2020

California Health & Mental Health Care Employees— we have dedicated 2020 to assisting you in ending the often abusive, over-worked & inappropriately paid environments you have been working under for far too long. Give us a call to see how we can assist you. We offer free consultation and have two office locations to serve you better.

10/23/2019

The most common workplace laws that employers violate can be found in this article. If your rights at work have been violated, give us a call to see if we can assist you. Free consultation.

Here’s a breakdown of the laws that prohibit a hostile work environment and what you should do if a manager or co-worker is harassing you.

10/19/2019

An article you may find interesting:

Julie Su wants the world’s fifth-largest economy to remain a global juggernaut. To do so, California’s labor secretary acknowledges, the state will ne...