MORE employment laws were recently passed by California’s lawmakers. These include:
New minimum wage laws to take effect in 2014
The new law raises the $8 an hour minimum wage to $9 an hour, effective July 1, 2014, and from $9 an hour to $10 an hour, effective Jan. 1, 2016. California’s minimum wage has not been raised in 6 years. Lawmakers noted that inflation has eroded the purchasing power of California’s minimum wage over the past four decades and that California’s minimum wage is less than the minimum wage workers earned in 1979.
Expansion of paid Family Leave Law
Current law provides family temporary disability insurance consisting of wage replacement benefits up to six weeks to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child. The scope of the program is expanded to include time off to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling or parent in law.
Sexual harassment need not be motivated by sexual desire
The new law addresses the court decision in Kelley v. Conco Companies, a same-sex harassment case that ruled that the plaintiff had not proven that the harasser had a sexual desire for the plaintiff, which prevented the plaintiff from proceeding. This new law clarifies that sexually harassing conduct does not need to be motivated by sexual desire in order to be classified as ‘sexual harassment.’
Car wash employers must have bond to fund employee wages
Existing law requires employers of car washers to register with the Labor Commissioner and pay a specified registration fee, or be subject to a specified civil fine. Existing law also requires car wash employers to post a $15,000 bond for the benefit of the state to compensate employees damaged by the employer’s nonpayment of wages. These existing laws will expire on January 1, 2014. The new law makes these existing provisions permanent but increases the employer’s bond requirement amount to $150,000. The employer is exempt from this requirement if the employer has a collective bargaining agreement in place that expressly provides for wages, hours of work, working conditions, and an expeditious process to resolve disputes concerning nonpayment of wages, among other things.
Illegal to terminate would-be whistleblowers
Existing law prohibits any employer from retaliating against an employee who disclosed to a government or law enforcement agency any information showing the employer’s violation or noncompliance of laws or regulations. The recently enacted law expands these provisions to prohibit an employer from retaliating against an employee who may disclose information to a government or law enforcement agency, regarding the employer’s violations. The new law protects employees who are fired before they can report any wrongdoing to prevent them from reporting such wrongdoing.
Employee not liable for attorneys’ fees unless lawsuit in bad faith
In a wage claim lawsuit, existing law generally requires that reasonable attorney’s fees and costs be awarded to the prevailing party if such damages were requested. The new law revises the existing law by providing that if the employee lost his or her case for back wages, the employee does not have to pay the employer’s attorney fees or costs unless the court finds that the employee brought the lawsuit in bad faith.
Except for the Minimum Wage and the Family Leave laws, all of the above enactments will take effect January 1, 2014.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant results, including several million dollar recoveries for consumers against insurance companies and employers. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum – a prestigious group of trial lawyers whose membership is limited to those who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy. He has been featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements for his professional accomplishments and recipient of numerous awards from community and media organizations. His litigation practice concentrates in the following areas: wage and hour (overtime) litigation, serious personal injuries, wrongful death, insurance claims, and unfair business practices. His law firm is currently class counsel to thousands of employees seeking payment of wages in California courts. You can visit his website at www.joesayaslaw.com or contact his office by telephone at (818) 291-0088. Inquiries to his law office are welcome and at no cost.