The California legislature has a number of important bills pending passage that would significantly affect employers.  We are following these bills closely so that employers can be prepared for what 2015 may bring.  Click here for a look at the status of the bills of interest to California private-sector employers as the legislature begins its summer recess on July 3.

Summary of Program

Join Weintraub Tobin employment attorney, Beth West, as she discusses the fundamentals of an effective workplace investigation.

Program Highlights

  • The duty to investigate
  • Determining who will do the investigation
  • Tips for conducting the investigation
    • Preparation
    • Witness Interviews
    • Documentation
  • The consequences for a poorly planned or incomplete investigation
  • The consequences for failing to investigate

Date:    July 17, 2014

Time:  12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

To register for this webinar, please email Ramona Carrillo at rcarrillo@weintraub.com.  For additional information, visit our website at www.weintraub.com and click on the News and Events tab.

On July 1, 2014, California’s minimum hourly wage will increase from $8.00 to $9.00 per hour.  The minimum wage will increase again on January 1, 2016 to $10.00 per hour.  Most employers are aware of the increase and are prepared to comply by paying their minimum wage workers $9.00 per hour starting July 1, 2014.  However, what many employers have overlooked is that the increase affects their minimum salary obligations for their white collar exempt employees.

Under California law, if an employer classifies an employee as exempt under the “executive,” “administrative,” or “professional” exemption (“white collar” exemptions), they must meet certain exemption requirements.  One requirement is that the employee earns a set weekly salary of no less than two times the state minimum wage for a full-time employee.  Currently that wage is $640.00 per week (or $33,280 per year).  On July 1, 2014, the set salary requirement will increase to $720 per week (or $37,440 per year).

As a result, in addition to increasing the hourly rate of pay for minimum wage employees, employers should evaluate the compensation paid to their white collar exempt employees and ensure it meets the minimum salary requirement.   Failure to pay the minimum salary requirement can result in the loss of the exemption which can open a whole host of potential liability – e.g. failure to pay overtime.

Finally, the California Department of Industrial Relations (aka Labor Commissioner) has updated all Wage Orders to reflect the new minimum wage (see section 4).  Employers should post the updated Wage Order applicable to their industry or business along with their other employment law posters.  Wage Orders can be obtained at the Labor Commissioner’s website – www.dir.ca.gov.

What do yoga instructors, event planners and exterminators have in common?  These are fields that are reportedly witnessing an increase in the use of noncompete provisions in employment agreements.  Details of this increase in the use of noncompete provisions were reported in a New York Times article this Sunday.  Click here to view article.

While the article makes clear that such provisions are generally illegal in California, it observes that there is a large variation between other states’ laws, from states having some restrictions on the use of noncompetes to Texas and Florida which place relatively few limits on them.  These variations can raise significant issues for California employers who are in the process of hiring or recruiting employees who either work outside California or work for non-California based companies.  In making such decisions, employers are advised to determine whether potential employees are subject to a noncompete provision and obtain legal advice as to the enforceability of such provision under the applicable state law.