In September 2021, California’s Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 62 which expands the definition of the garment manufacturing industry for purposes of wage claim enforcement to include brand guarantors.  A brand guarantor is a person who contracts for the performance of garment manufacturing.  Brand guarantors include persons who license a brand or name for garment manufacturing.
SB 62 also prohibits…

At the end of the year, California’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued updated guidance regarding Isolation and Quarantine, which applied to workplaces per the Governor’s prior Executive Order. The timing of this guidance was rather awkward, as the Cal/OSHA Standards Board had recently approved changes to the Cal/OSHA ETS set to go into effect on January 14, 2022.
Since…

The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has released the Voluntary Plan Employee Contribution and Benefit Rates for 2022.
Employers with employees located in California are generally required to withhold and send state disability contributions to the EDD. The 2022 rates are as follows:
“Employee Contribution Rate”
1.10%
“Taxable Wage Ceiling” (per employee per year)
$145,600.00
“Maximum Contribution” (per employee…

In mid-December, as COVID-19 cases began to rise, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reinstituted indoor masking requirements and Cal/OSHA confirmed that requirements applied in the workplace. When issued, the mandate was only supposed to remain in effect until January 15, 2022.
However, with COVID-19 cases still on an uptick, the CDPH has extended the requirement for universal …

On December 16, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopted the third version of the Cal/OSHA ETS with new exclusion and return to work requirements for COVID-19 cases and close contacts.
On December 30, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued new guidance for Isolation and Quarantine for the General Public. This new guidance contradicted some of the…

In September 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 701, which regulates the use of quotas at warehouse distribution centers in California.
AB 701 requires employers with large warehouse distribution centers to disclose quotas and pace-of-work standards to each employee upon hire or within 30 days of the law going into effect.
AB 701 went into effect January 1,…

After many delays, employers nationwide just filed their 2020 EEO-1 reports in November.  But it’s already time for California employers to begin preparing their annual pay data submission to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
The Background
In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 973, which creates massive pay reporting requirements…