It’s a new year with new rules. New laws and court rulings have changed the already complicated Human Resource landscape for California employers. Recent legislation signed into law by Governor Newsom has only further muddied the waters for employers trying to stay in compliance. These cover the gamut from paid sick leave and medical leave, occupational safety rules, and expanded coverage for more family members like parents-in-law. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing will administer more rules on family leave, sexual harassment, and much more affecting even small employers. New pandemic rules will soon expand, or have already expanded, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to provide more medical conditions for paid sick leave and so on.
In addition, the legislature added a criminal penalty for California employers that intentionally withhold wages or gratuities owed, calling this wage theft. The offense now qualifies as grand theft with possible felony charges. Not paying independent contractors is also a covered criminal offense.
To help you keep up, we’ve broken down some of the most important new rules. Even if you don’t do business in California, the trends set here could soon pop up in other states, so it’s best to pay close attention.
California has set a higher minimum wage than dictated by federal law. State law sets a different minimum wage based on the number of employees a California employer has on the payroll. For 2022,...
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