Overview of the new 2014 laws that affect California employers

California enacted many new employment laws that will affect California employers’ day-to-day operations and policies in 2014. Below are the bills that were signed by Governor Brown in 2013 that took effect January 1, 2014, unless otherwise noted. 

Note: Click on bill number to read the bill in its entirety. 

Wage and hour

AB 10, Alejo: Increase in minimum wage: 

California increases the minimum wage of $8.00 per hour by two, one-dollar increments: 1) to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2014, and 2) to $10.00 per hour effective January 1, 2016. This is the first increase to minimum wage since January 1, 2008. The change may have an impact on employers that don’t have minimum wage workers. As an employer you will need to look at your exempt employees who aren't paid overtime. Note: Exempt  employees must be paid at least twice the minimum wage based on a 40-hour workweek regardless of the number of hours worked. The measure will also change the minimum wage poster required to be posted by all employers in the workplace; see below.

AB 442, Nazarian: Damages for minimum wage violations: 

This law expands the penalty and restitution citation for failure to pay the minimum wage to also include the state labor commissioner’s ability to order the payment of liquidated damages by the employer to the employee. Liquidated damages are the amount equal to the wages unlawfully unpaid plus interest.

SB 390, Wright: Employee wage withholdings: failure to remit:

Makes it a crime for an employer to willfully or with intent to fail to remit federal, state and local income tax or other required withholdings from an employee’s wages and deposit those withholdings to the proper agency. Also provides that if an employer fails to remit $500 or more in wage withholdings, the employer’s violation is a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by imprisonment in county jail for a period of not more than one year, by a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.   

SB 462, Monning: Employment compensation: 

Limits an employer’s recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs in an employee-initiated wage and benefits claim to only when the court finds that the employee acted in "bad faith" when bringing that action for nonpayment of wages, fringe benefits, or health and welfare or pension fund contributions. 

Discrimination and retaliation protections

AB 556, Salas: Protection for military and veterans from discrimination:

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age or sexual orientation. New to the list of protection from employment discrimination are members of the military and veterans. Violation of these employment discrimination prohibitions can lead to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing taking the employer to court, with potential remedies including, but not limited to, back pay, employment reinstatement, required employer policy changes and training, actual damages including damages for emotional distress, punitive damages (generally not covered by insurance) and attorneys’ fees and costs. The measure will also likely change an employment law poster required to be posted by all employers in the workplace; see below.

AB 1386, R. Hernandez, Alejo, Chau, and Holden: Employee complaints and final orders:

Provides that where the labor commissioner finds that an employer has violated rules governing the payment of wages or other employment-related rules, the labor commissioner may create a lien with the county in which the employer's property is located for amounts found due to the employee by the employer. In addition, the law provides that the lien would continue on the employer's real property until the payment owed by the employer is satisfied or released for up to 10 years.

SB 288, Lieu: Employment protections: time off: 

Prohibits an employer from discharging, discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim of a serious criminal offense for taking time off from work upon the victim’s request to appear in court, including any delinquent act proceeding. In addition, the law extends  protections to reinstatement and reimbursement to an employee who is threatened with or discharged, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated or retaliated against for taking time off from work to appear at such a court proceeding.

SB 292, Corbett: Sexual harassment: 

Provides prohibited sexual harassment need not be motivated by sexual desire. The measure will also likely change an employment law poster required to be posted by all employers in the workplace; see below.

Leaves and benefits

SB 770, Jackson and DeSaulnier: Paid Family Leave Expansion: 

Under existing law, the California Paid Family Leave program allows eligible employees to take up to six weeks of partially paid family leave from their jobs each year to take care of a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, registered domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption. Senate Bill 770 expands the definition of "family" within the paid family leave program to allow workers to take this leave to care for seriously ill siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and parents-in-law. The amended law goes into effect July 1, 2014. This law applies to employers with one or more employees. The measure will also likely change an employment law poster required to be posted by all employers in the workplace; see below.

Immigration protections

AB 60, Alejo: Driver’s license for undocumented immigrants:

Requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue a driver’s license to an undocumented person who signs an affidavit attesting they are ineligible for a SSN and unable to provide proof of legal presence in the United States. Assembly Bill 60 takes effect January 1, 2015, or on the date the DMV director executes a specified declaration, whichever happens sooner. Note that this driver’s license has a different appearance and is not acceptable for I-9 verifications. 

AB 263 R. Hernandez and SB 666 Steinberg: Increased Anti-Retaliation Protection "unfair immigration-related practices": 

Prohibits employers from retaliating or taking adversarial action against an employee or applicant for making a genuine complaint or claim for unpaid wages. Entitles employees to reinstatement of employment and reimbursement for lost wages; authorizes civil penalties of up to $10,000. Also prohibits any person acting on behalf of an employer from stopping an employee from disclosing information to the government and expands prohibited actions to include preventing an employee from testifying before a public body. Violations are a misdemeanor and civil penalties up to $10,000 are authorized.  

AB 524, Mullin: Criminal extortion for threatening to report immigration status:

Clarifies that a person or employer may be guilty of criminal extortion if the person or employer threatens to report the immigration status or suspected immigration status of an individual or a member of his/her family.

Other 

SB 46, Corbett: Personal information:

Expands the requirement for any person or business conducting business in California that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information to disclose in a specified manner any breach of the security of the system or data to any California resident whose unencrypted personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person, to include breaches of an individual’s user names and e-mail address(es), in combination with a password(s) or a security question and answer that would permit access to their online accounts. 

In closing, the new laws will create changes to up to four employment law posters required to be posted in the workplace by every California employer, including doctors of optometry (see above). COA offers members a discounted annual subscription to the 16 employment law posters required for all employers. By purchasing the subscription, doctors are ensured that their practice will be current in displaying all relevant employment notices as they are released over the next year. Hefty fines, ranging from $500 to thousands per poster, are applied to those employers that do not display employment posters. State and federal entities have the right to inspect that employment posters are properly displayed in a common area for all employees to review. The price for  a subscription is $45.00. Order here or call (916)-441-3990.

Return on Dues Investment: The placement of required employment law posters can return up to more than 4 to 6 times a doctor’s annual dues investment by avoiding potential fines up to $10,000.  

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