AB 25
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| Domestic partnerships. Significantly expands the legal rights of unmarried domestic partners. Family Code Section 297 defines domestic partners as two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring. In order for the partners to enjoy the benefits under this bill, their relationship must be established by meeting the criteria of Family Code Section 297 and the filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the office of the California Secretary of State.
- Allows domestic partners to use up to one-half of their accrued, available sick leave to care for an ill domestic partner or the child of a domestic partner, and allows the domestic partner to make disability benefit claims on behalf of a domestic partner who is mentally unable to make the claim.
- Allows a domestic partner to collect unemployment insurance if s/he leaves a job for "good cause" to relocate with the other domestic partner. "Good cause" includes the act of accompanying a domestic partner to a place which makes commuting impractical and to which a transfer by the affected partner's employer is unavailable.
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AB 800
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No English Only Policies. Employers are strictly prohibited from adopting or enforcing policies that limit or prohibit the use of any language in any workplace, unless:
(1) the restrictions are justified by business necessity and
(2) the employer has notified all employees of the time and places where the restrictions must be observed.
Business necessity is defined as an "overriding legitimate business purpose such that the language restriction is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of the business; that the language restriction effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve; and there is no alternative practice to the language restriction that could accomplish the business purpose equally well with a lesser discriminatory impact."
Liquidated damages penalties are allowed under this new law up to $5,000.00 per aggrieved worker.
As a result of the passing of this bill, the required poster DFEH - 162 has been updated to reflect this legislative change. It can be ordered directly from the DFEH on-line at http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/ or by mail to Department of Fair Employment and Housing, San Francisco District Office, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 7600, San Francisco, CA 94102-6073. |
AB 1015
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Using Contracts to Regulate Employees' Off-Duty Conduct: Current law prohibits employers from regulating the lawful off-duty conduct of their employees. The rule, on occasion, has facilitated the invalidation of general policies prohibiting employees from working for competitors. This new law creates an exception to the general rule. California Labor Code Section 98.6 as amended, will allow employers to enter into contracts with employees which protect the employer against any conduct that is "actually in direct conflict with the essential enterprise-related interests of the employer and where breach of that contract would actually constitute a material and substantial disruption of the employer's operation." |
AB 1025
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Lactation Accommodation. Requires all employers, regardless of size, to provide reasonable accommodations (private area) and a reasonable amount of break time for nursing mothers to breast-pump milk at work. The private area provided by the employer should be in close proximity to the nursing mother's workstation, not a toilet stall.
Break time for an employee that exceeds the rest time authorized by applicable wage orders is unpaid, however, an employer will not be required to provide such break time if it would seriously disrupt the employer's operations. |
AB 1069
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Reopening of Dismissed Employment Claims. Allows the DLSE to reopen previously dismissed claims by state Labor Commissioner and requires new investigation by federal Department of Labor. The filing of a timely complaint with the United States Labor Commissioner (U.S. DOL) will stay the state Labor Commissioner's dismissal of the division complaint until the DOL makes a determination regarding the alleged violation. Within 15 days of the receipt of the DOL determination, the state Labor Commissioner will be required to notify the parties as to whether he/she will reopen the complaint filed with the division or whether he/she will reaffirm the dismissal. |
AB 1426
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Child Support Garnishments - New Penalty. An employer who willfully fails to withhold and forward support is liable to the obligee for the amount of the support, including interest. The bill allows court-ordered electronic transfer of garnishment form the employer's bank account when the employer has failed to comply with the assignment order on three separate occasions within a 12 month period. The employer may also be subject to civil penalty of up to 50% and accrued interest on the support amount if it withholds the support, as required, but fails to forward the amount to the obligee. |
AB 1643
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Long Term care facilities: Temporary Staff. This bill prohibits the referral of certified nurse assistants or licensed nursing staff for employment in a long-term health care facility unless the employment agency:
(1) has conducted a personal interview with the prospective individual, and has ensured that s/he
(2) has met employment requirements for licensure, work experience, training and references - and has verified that the individual is in good health;
(3) obtained a criminal background clearance; and
(4) verifies that the individual is free from unresolved allegations of abuse to a patient.
The prospective referral must have no less than six months experience working in a long-term health care facility. |
SB 20
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At Will Exception. This bill enacts the Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act ("Act"), which prohibits the at-will termination of janitors and building maintenance personnel in specific circumstances. Contractors and subcontractors that are awarded contracts or subcontracts to provide janitorial or building maintenance services at a particular job site or sites, must retain, for a period of 60 days, certain employees who were employed at that site by the previous contractor or subcontractor. Employees retained under the bill's provisions for that 60-day period must be provided
(1) a written performance evaluation and
(2) be offered continued employment if their performance during that 60-day period is satisfactory.
This bill applies to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2002. Charges for violation of the Act may be brought in a California Superior Court. |
SB 40
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Unemployment Insurance. Enacts legislation which increases unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by $100.00 a week, effective for claims filed on or after January 1, 2002. The current benefit rate is 39 percent of the claimant's average weekly wage not to exceed $230.00. On January 1, 2002, the benefit will rise to 45 percent of claimant's average weekly wage not to exceed $330.00. The benefits will then increase year to year by $40.00 until 2005.
Under this bill, UI benefits are extended to part-time workers, keeps WARN Act payments from affecting eligibility and revises the "base period" for the calculation of benefits. |
SB 588
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Joint Labor-Management Committees: New Right of Action to Sue Employers. A properly qualified joint labor-management committee (private union watchdog organization) may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against an employer that fails to pay the prevailing wage to its employees.
The civil action must commence no later than 180 days after the filing of a valid notice of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in which the public work or some part thereof was performed, or no later than 180 days after acceptance of the public work, whichever last occurs.
Any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee must be complete, with only the individual's social security number redacted for privacy. All other information, including addresses must remain. |
SB 871
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Drug Testing - Commercial Vehicles. Motor carrier employers, subject to federal Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing requirements will incur a new liability as a result of this bill. Any person who suffers injury by a driver of a commercial motor vehicle may recover treble damages from the driver's employer where it is shown the driver was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance at the time the injury was caused, and the driver willfully failed to comply with specific federal law.
The employer's motor carrier permit is subject to suspension for failure to comply with the regulations for controller substances and alcohol use, or for the failure to allow inspection of the results and records of drug tests.
The employer motor carrier may not place an applicant/new hire on duty until it has complied with the federal drug testing requirements and has investigated the applicant/new hire's employment history. All efforts to obtain this required information must be documented. |
SB 1208
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Working Hours - Overtime Exemption. This bill provides that physician employees paid an hourly wage of at least $55.00 are exempt from provisions relating to pay for overtime work. The wage rate will be adjusted annually. This exemption does not apply to someone employed in a medical internship or resident program or to a physician employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement. |
Now is the time to review and update your Employee Policies to reflect the new employment laws. Simpson, Garrity & Innes can assist your organization with this important project. |
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