The California Legislature increased the complexity of employment law in the Golden State by enacting several employment laws that will soon take effect. Below we summarize key aspects of the more significant new legislation.
Under current law, employers who wrongfully and intentionally withhold wages from employees may be convicted of a misdemeanor. AB 1003 increases the potential punishment and makes it a felony if an employer, acting intentionally, wrongfully fails to pay wages in an amount greater than $950 to one employee, or $2,350 in the aggregate to two or more employees, within a 12-month period. Under AB 1003, independent contractors are considered employees, and entities that hire such contractors are considered employers. Although AB 1003 does not define “employer,” that term is most likely to be construed broadly consistent with California court decisions that define an employer to include any person who exercises control over wages, hours, or working conditions of the employee, and which may include managers, supervisors, officers and owners of a business who are involved in implementing wage and hour policies and practices. An employer acts “intentionally” when it deprives an employee of wages with knowledge that the wages are due. Grand theft is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to three years. Although we expect that prosecutions for grand...
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