In October 2022, Governor Newsom announced the California COVID-19 State of Emergency would end on February 28, 2023. While this will phase out some of the tools the state used in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, it does not mean the end of all COVID-19 regulations and requirements for employers. Three illustrative examples are discussed below.
Supplemental Paid Sick Leave…
A pair of recent California Court of Appeal decisions serve as yet another reminder to employers of the difficulties that they potentially face when enforcing arbitration agreements in California and, as a result, the importance of drafting clear, precise arbitration agreements. The first case, Hernandez v. Meridian Management Services, LLC, reiterated the importance of clearly identifying third-party beneficiaries of an…
California employers take note: the non-emergency version of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention regulations are now in effect.
At the end of 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to adopt the COVID-19 Prevention non-emergency regulations to replace the Emergency Temporary Standard(ETS).
On February 3, 2023, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the non-emergency standard. Though not titled a temporary…
On January 20, 2023, San Francisco approved the Military Leave Pay Protection Act, which mandates that certain employers must provide paid leave for employees taking leave for military duty.
The ordinance takes effect 30 days after passage on February 19, 2023.
Covered Employers
The ordinance applies to employers who employ 100 or more employees, regardless of location, but excludes the…
On January 24, 2023, the California Secretary of State completed its verification process and qualified a referendum challenging Assembly Bill (AB) 257, also known as the FAST Recovery Act for the November 2024 ballot. In the meantime, the law will not take effect unless it is approved by voters in the November 2024 election.
Governor Newsom signed AB 257 into…
California employers are required to post their annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses, in a visible and easily accessible area at every worksite from February 1st through April 30th. Cal/OSHA’s Form 300A must be used for this posting.
Employers can find an overview regarding completing both the log (Form 300) and the annual summary (Form 300A) on …
Among the many challenges employers face in enforcing employment arbitration agreements in California are employees arguing that they are not bound by the agreement because they do not recall signing it, even when the agreement contains their signature. A California Court of Appeal decision recently shot down this argument, holding that an employee cannot evade an arbitration agreement with a…
When Senate Bill (SB) 1162 was signed in 2022, much of the focus was on the new pay transparency requirements. However, the bill also amended pay data reporting requirements in California. Under the amendments covered employers would need to submit separate pay data reports for employees hired through labor contractors. In addition, reporting would need to include the median and…
While the Secretary of State continued to count signatures to determine if a potential referendum challenging the FAST Recovery Act (AB 257) will make it on the ballot, the Sacramento Superior Court has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the implementation or enforcement of AB 257. The injunction will remain in effect unless and until either: 1) county election officials and…
The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has released the Voluntary Plan Employee Contribution and Benefit Rates for 2023.
Employers with employees located in California are generally required to withhold and send state disability contributions to the EDD.
The 2023 rates are as follows:
“Employee Contribution Rate”0.9%“Taxable Wage Ceiling” (per employee per year)$153,164.00“Maximum Contribution” (per employee per year)$1,378.48“Maximum Weekly Benefit…
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