Comparing the Big 3 Workplace Leave Laws – FMLA, CFRA, and PDL
Life happens, people fall ill or their family members get sick and they need to take leave from work. Sometime’s it’s for a joyous occasion like the birth or adoption of a baby. But even joyous occasions are stressful for employees when it interrupts their ability to work. When an employee has to take leave from work, employers are then concerned about getting coverage and worried about administering the leave in a legally compliant way. Here is a guide to help both employers and employees understand the workplace leave laws available to California workers. We will talk about the big 3 – Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California Family Rights Act (CFRA), and California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). These laws offer essential protections but have distinct requirements and benefits. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) The FMLA is a federal law that applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. To qualify, employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year. FMLA provides up … Continue reading
2024 New California Employment Laws
Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash As we approach the end of the year, it is essential for businesses to review their operations and prepare for the changes that the coming year will bring. In January 2024, several new California Employment Laws will go into effect, impacting policies and budgets. This is a crucial time for employers to update their employee handbooks and hiring documents to ensure compliance with these new regulations. Minimum Paid Sick Leave Accrual Cap and Use Increases One of the significant changes in 2024 is the increase in the minimum paid sick leave accrual, cap, and use. The law is that employees must earn at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work. If your company uses an alternative method of paid sick leave accrual, such as front-loading, employers previously had to provide three days (24 hours) of paid sick leave. This requirement has now increased to five days (40 hours) that are available within the first 200 calendar days of employment. Employers may also cap the use of accrued paid sick … Continue reading
2023 Employment Law Updates
Welcome to 2023. New Year, New You, New California Employment Laws! Here is a quick overview of the most significant new laws that went into effect on January 1, 2023. This is not an exhaustive list but one that will apply to most small to medium-sized business owners in California. PRACTICAL TIP: Make sure your documents reflect that you are implementing changes that are applicable to your business. For example, update your written notice to employees of the terms of their employment to reflect the new hourly rate if you have employees who make minimum wage. Update the language in your employee handbooks to reflect the ability to designate non-family members for CFRA and paid sick leave. PAY Minimum Wage Increases/Exempt Pay Increases The California state minimum wage in 2023 is now $15.50 per hour for all employees, regardless of the employer’s size. However, some cities and counties have even higher local minimum wage requirements. Employers should check the minimum wage requirements for all cities and counties where their employees work. Some cities with higher minimum wage requirements include Los … Continue reading
Post-COVID or Long-COVID As a Disability
What is Post-COVID condition? According to the CDC, although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. This prolonged after-effects of COVID may have different names such as long COVID, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, long-term effects of COVID, or chronic COVID. Regardless of the name, the effect is the same; that is, for some people the road to recovery from COVID-19 will take longer than the anticipated 2 weeks. Some of the reported symptoms include: Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath Tiredness or fatigue Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”) Cough Chest or stomach pain Headache Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations) Joint or muscle pain … Continue reading
Paid Sick Leave Under FFCRA Expired – Now What?
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s (FFCRA) paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements expired on December 31, 2020. Thus, employers are no longer obligated to provide paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work due to a Covid-19 related illness, the need to quarantine because of exposure, to care for a family member who is ill due to Covid-19, or to care for a child because of school closure related to Covid-19. However, employers may voluntarily choose to provide paid sick leave to employees for Covid-19 related reasons. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, extended the employer tax credits for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave voluntarily provided to employees until March 31, 2021. To voluntarily provide paid sick leave, or not to pay, that is the question. The Pros of Extending Paid Sick Leave Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise and the need remains. Paid leave slows the spread. Providing leave to employees who test positive or exhibit symptoms will slow the spread of the disease generally and within your workplace. … Continue reading
End of Year Checklist
We are fast-approaching the end of the year, which is when most businesses evaluate the successes and challenges of the past year and make plans for improvements in the coming year. Just like Santa goes over his list at this time of year, here is a checklist to help your business close out the year and prepare for 2018. Employee Pay Pay Audit – If your company has not performed a pay audit, this is the perfect time to do it since determining whether each employee should receive a raise and how much will require you to review each employee’s pay. Extend that review to an analysis of whether a pay discrepancy exists between employees in the same or similar positions. This will help mitigate your company’s risk of Equal Pay violation claims in the future. If you discover pay discrepancies, this is the time to address those discrepancies and provide raises and bonuses where appropriate. Bonus – As you determine employee bonuses, make sure to review your written policies related to bonuses to ensure that you are meeting the … Continue reading
New Law 2018 – Parental Leave Requirement Expanded to Smaller Employers
If your business employees 20 to 49 employees, you must prepare for a significant change that many small businesses deem a significant burden – job-protected parental leave. On October 12, 2017, Governor Brown approved SB 63, which expands the leave requirements of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to employers who employ at least 20 employees within a 75 miles (down from the threshold of 50 employees). If your company does not have a parental leave policy, or has one that does not meet the requirements of the new law, the next couple of months is the perfect time to create one, updated your employee handbook, and establish a contingency plan on how you will cover for employees who may take anywhere between 3 to 7 months of leave. Here is a short outline of the new Government Code Section 12945.6’s requirements: Employers with at least 20 employees within 75 miles of the worksite must now do the following: 1. Provide up to 12 weeks of parental leave to an employee who has worked for the employer for more than 12 … Continue reading
Disability Accommodation
Here’s a common situation, an employee calls in sick and a couple of days later you receive a doctor’s note taking the employee off work for 2 weeks. If you are an employer with 5 or more employees in California, you are subject to the anti-discrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). If you have 15 or more employees, you are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Both laws require employers to find a reasonable accommodation for an employee who suffers a physical or mental disability so that the employee could return to work. California employers have the added duty to engage in the interactive process in good faith. The interactive process is simply engaging the employee in a dialogue to understand their restrictions and available accommodations. Why does it matter? From a management perspective, truly engaging in the interactive process and making the appropriate efforts to accommodate a disabled employee shows all your workers that they are valued beyond being merely disposable workers. From a legal/monetary standpoint, doing it right will prevent … Continue reading
Victim of Domestic Violence Leave
Women make up just under half of the U.S. labor force (46.8% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Thus, ensuring that women are safe, healthy, and productive is imperative to your business and the country’s economic growth. Yet, every 9 seconds, a women in the U.S. is beaten or assaulted. A greater proportion of women are victims of domestic violence but men suffer from domestic violence as well. In fact, in 1 year, more than 10 million women and men are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). In an effort to protect victims of domestic violence the California legislature have enacted laws to protect employees who are victims of domestic violence. Do You Know Your Legal Obligations to Your Employees? Non-discrimination: All employers are prohibited from discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against an employee: Who takes time off to appear in court pursuant to a subpoena or court order. (Lab. Code § 230) Because of the employee’s status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the … Continue reading
10 Business Events that Should Trigger a Call to Your Lawyer
As an owner of a small business, I understand the external demands faced by small and medium-sized business owners. Sometimes we think we can do it all . . . until we realize that we can’t. At some point, a business owner wonders “when should I contact a lawyer?” Unfortunately, many businesses wait until a problem that would have cost a few hundred dollars to fix turns into a $10,000 problem before finding a lawyer. Here is a list of when to call a lawyer for a quick consultation. As Desiderius Erasmus said, “prevention is better than cure.” This is not an exhaustive list and the prevention is not absolute ,but at the very least, it will minimize your potential risks. 1. Before hiring your first employee The Prevention: Violations of federal and California anti-discrimination laws; Misclassification of exempt and non-exempt employees; Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and California laws on backgrounds checks and consumer reports; and Violations of federal and California employment laws on overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, and pay stub violations. 2. Before firing an employee … Continue reading