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
Rejection Therapy – 48 Days of Ridiculous Asks and How It Could Help You
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash I heard about Jia Jiang’s Ted Talk called “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection” and as one does, thought, “That sounds like fun! I’ll give it a try!” I recommend watching the Ted Talk but the premise is to get over the fear of rejection by making requests of strangers. It seems that the more ridiculous the better. But I found that the most difficult ones weren’t the outrageous requests, but ones that I had a lot of value judgment around. I embarked on this experiment called “Rejection Therapy” with 2 ground rules: I then posted about it in my Instagram stories each day in the hopes that it would inspire others to see the value of just asking. Yes, it was entertaining and from the response I got from friends and fans (oh yes, I have fans because fun fact, I was a Thai teen pop star in my last life) I knew it was also impactful. From the title of this post you can tell that I lasted 48 days, … 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
New Notice Requirements for California Warehouse Distribution Centers
Photo by Ryan Parker on Unsplash California’s AB 701 Amends section 138.7 and adds a new part to the Labor Code to specifically address Warehouse Distribution Centers. Which Employers Will be Affected by the New Law? Any company that employs (directly or through third parties and agencies): 100 or more nonexempt warehouse distribution workers at a single warehouse distribution center; OR 1,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state of California. New Notice Requirement Beginning January 1, 2022, Certain employers will need to provide non-exempt employees with a written description of each quota the employee is subject to. What must be in this notice? The quantified number of tasks to be performed by the employee, or materials to be produced or handled. The time period tasks must be performed or materials must be produced in. The adverse employment action that could result if the employee does not meet the quota. When must subject employers give the notice to warehouse distribution center employees? At the time of hire; or By January 31, 2022. New Employee … Continue reading
Employer’s COVID-19 Notice Requirements
AB-654 went into effect immediately on October 5, 2021, and will expire on January 1, 2023. The law amends California Labor Code Section 6325 and amends and repeals Labor Code section 6409.6 relating to occupational safety and notice requirements about COVID-19 in the workplace. Below is an outline of an employers’ notice requirements as well as duties to report exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. If you receive an OSHA that your place of employment, operation, or process, poses an imminent risk to workers of exposure to infection with COVID-19, resulting in OSHA prohibiting entry to the place of employment or prohibiting the risky operation or process, you must post the OSHA notice in a conspicuous place at the place of employment and may not be removed except by an authorized OSHA representative. If you receive notice of potential exposure to COVID-19, the employer must do the following within one business day of the notice of potential exposure: Provide a written notice of potential exposure to 1. All employees; and 2. employers of subcontracted employees who were at the same … 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
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) Signed Into Law
Yesterday, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was passed into law and goes into effect on April 1, 2020, and stays in effect until December 31, 2020. If you are an employer with less than 500 employees, please read because this will apply to you. Employers, check out our COVID-19 Resource Guide. The Act: requires private insurance plans to provide free COVID-19 testing; requires employers to provide emergency paid sick leave to workers affected by COVID-19 and expands family and medical leave; and provides increased funding for state unemployment insurance programs, food stamp and nutritional programs and others. This post will focus on the emergency family and medical leave and emergency sick leave aspects of the Act, which will affect the vast majority of employers and employees across the country. There are two provisions providing paid leave to employees forced to miss work because of the COVID-19 outbreak: an emergency expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and a new federal paid sick leave law. Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act FMLA Coverage is Expanded to Include Most Employers – The Act … Continue reading
COVID-19 Resource Guide for Employers
Please keep in mind that the situation is ever-developing and information and guidelines will constantly change. That being said, as of today, there are many programs available to you both on the state and federal level. Where can I get help if my business is facing financial strain due to COVID-19? The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) provides small business owners with low-interest disaster relief loans if their business is in a state and county that has been declared an “Eligible Disaster Area” by the SBA. In California, as of March 16, the following counties have been declared as eligible: Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Sonoma, Tuolumne, Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Imperial, Kern, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Ventura and Yolo. If your business is located in an Eligible Disaster Area, you may qualify for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the SBA. To qualify, an applicant must have an acceptable credit history, … Continue reading
What to Do: Employee Leaves With Trade Secrets
Losing an employee, especially a key employee, is difficult for any business. You’ve invested time, know-how, and resources in your employees and they in turn are the lifeblood of your business. Unfortunately, people leave and when they leave, it is usually to work for a competitor or even to start a competing business. If that employee had access to your company’s confidential information such as customer lists, customer preferences, pricing formulas, and any other information that gives you a competitive edge, you want to make sure that the employee can’t take that valuable information to a competitor. How do you protect trade secrets from a competitor when an employee leaves? I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news: If the first time you think about protecting your company’s confidential information is after a key employee leaves, it may be too late. One of the fundamental requirements under California and Federal laws that protect trade secrets is the requirement that you made reasonable efforts to keep that information a secret. Thus, if you haven’t thought about how … Continue reading
What to do Before You Sign a Contract
Congratulations! You made a deal, reached an agreement, or resolved a dispute and now you’re ready to sign a contract to make it all official. If this contract is important enough to you, pause for a minute, read it carefully, and ask an attorney to review it. Why? There are 2 reasons: Whoever drafts the contract will include terms and provisions that are in their favor. They have no obligation, duty, or interest (generally) in watching out for your interest. But your lawyer does. Every time I review a contract and explain the various clauses to my clients, there are a few clauses that my clients did not understand or was against their interest and invariably had to be negotiated and revised. You may have an engineering degree from MIT and be the smartest person in the room but unless you’ve seen the same clauses day in and day out and have seen their implications in the litigation context, you may not have an accurate understanding of the contract. Contract pitfalls to look out for. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. … Continue reading