After the passage of SB 525, covered healthcare employers who are mandated to increase the minimum wage of their affected employees (and contractors) waited patiently as the Legislature voted to delay the implementation of the increase due to budgetary concerns. Read more
State Minimum Wage Increases on January 1, 2025
It’s time to plan for next year. On January 1, 2025, the state minimum wage is set to increase to $16.50/hr. and the minimum salary for exempt employees throughout the state will be increasing to $68,640.Read more
Governor Newsom Signs AB 2288 and SB 92, Changing PAGA Law [Lab. Code, §§ 2699, 2699.3]
After heavy negotiations with the legislature and business groups, a deal was reached that amends the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), such that a ballot measure was pulled from the November ballot.Read more
Important Reminders of July 1st Compliance Deadlines
Minimum Wage Goes Up Again for California Municipalities
Here we go again. It’s that time in the summer when San Francisco, Los Angeles and about a dozen cities and counties compete for the title of Highest Minimum Wage in the state. This year, the award goes to the city of Emeryville, in the San Francisco Bay area, with a new minimum wage of $19.36. Meanwhile last year’s winner, West Hollywood, comes in second as it maintains its minimum wage of $19.08 through the end of the year.Read more
Healthcare Employers Stay Tuned – SB 525 Might be Delayed
Healthcare employers in California have spent the past six months making plans to comply with the state’s new minimum wage requirements for healthcare workers. SB 525 which requires hospitals, clinics and many other healthcare facilities to increase employee minimum hourly wages to $21 – $23, depending on the size and type of facility, is scheduled to go into effect on June 1. However, if the law’s author, state senator Maria Elana Durazo, is successful, healthcare employers could get a brief reprieve until July 1.Read more
Model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan is Here
It has arrived! The California Division of Occupational Safety & Health has published and released a Model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and information for employers and employees regarding the new workplace safety and violence prevention rules mandated by the recently enacted SB 553. The new law requires almost all California employers to implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan by July 1, 2024. Employers who have fewer than 10 employees and are not accessible to the public are exempted from the requirement.Read more
Voiding Illegal Non-Compete Clauses- Employers Are Required to Notify Current and Past Employees by Valentine’s Day
California has frowned on employee noncompetition agreements for a long time, but some employers still use them or try to disguise them as non-solicitation agreements. If that is the case in your Company, you will need to provide your affected employees with a personalized notice explaining that the non-competition agreement or the offending clause in the employment agreement is void by Valentine’s Day—February 14, 2024.Read more
Navigating the New Norm: California’s COVID-19 Regulatory Revamp
In a recent update on January 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has introduced changes to COVID-19 regulations, some of which directly impact Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Standards that remain in effect until February 3, 2025.Read more