Making Headlines

The California Wage Theft Prevention Act,  Notice to Employees

 The California Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), which became effective on January 1, 2012, requires private-sector employers to provide a written wage notice “at the time of hiring” to non-exempt employees (excluding most employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.).  The DLSE has issued a revised version of the notice that addresses many of the concerns raised by California employers.  The revised notice, available on the DLSE website, requires employers to provide the revised notice to employees hired after April 12, 2012.  However, those who received the prior version do not need to be provided with the revised notice, unless or until the information provided in a prior notice changes.

 

Court Temporarily Stops the NLRB from Enforcing Poster Requirement

In 2011 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a rule requiring employers to post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  The notice requirement was immediately challenged in various courts.  Because one federal district court upheld the posting requirement, while another struck it down, on April 17, 2012, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia temporarily enjoined the NLRB’s posting requirement, which had been scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012.  Currently, there is no new deadline set for the posting requirement; employers will not have to meet the April 30 implementation deadline.

 

Brinker Case – Meal Breaks

 Employees of Brinker International, Inc. filed this lawsuit eight years ago. The heart of the lawsuit is that Brinker failed to provide its employees with their legally mandated breaks. The case was certified as a class action and involved nearly 60,000 employees. The state Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brinker on the critical issue in this case – the employer’s obligation to provide a meal break. The court concluded that “an employer must relieve the employee of all duty for the designated period, but need not ensure that the employee does no work.”

When an employee works for five hours, the employer has a choice:

·         Afford an off duty meal period;

·         Consent to a mutually agreed upon waiver if one hour or less will end the shift; or

·          Obtain written agreement to an on duty meal period if circumstances permit.

 

What does “provide” a meal period mean? According to the court, the employer satisfies its legal obligation to provide an off duty meal period to its employees if it:

·            Relieves its employees of all duty

·            Relinquishes control over their activities

·            Permits them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break

·            Does not impede or discourage them from doing so

The duty to provide a meal break is an affirmative duty on the part of the employer that must meet the above requirements; it is more than simply making the meal break available. How these requirements are satisfied may “vary from industry to industry.” Yet, the court emphasized that, once the employer has satisfied the above test, “the employer is not obligated to police meal breaks and ensure no work thereafter is performed.” The employer is to relinquish control over the employee’s time, including whether the employee chooses to work during the meal period.

Importantly, if an employee continues to work after the employer satisfied its obligation of providing a duty-free meal period, the employer is not liable for premium pay. This is good news for employers. The court held that, at most, the employer will be liable for straight pay and then "only when it 'knew or reasonably should have known'" that the worker was working through the meal period. (Overtime pay is also possible if the work caused the employer to incur an overtime obligation.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Job Opening

Job Title:   Economist

Job Description:   Gathers data on supply and demand decisions of businesses, demographic trends and employment levels of local job markets;  Analyzes data and economic forecasts to prepare reports and statistical charts on clients’ current and future staffing demands, employability of internal field employees, wage determinations, and company’s profitability;  Designs customized and profit-maximizing staffing solutions and programs for client businesses by researching economic trends and developing forecasts on domestic and international employment and financial markets;  Assists management in planning and developing new branch offices by collecting and analyzing data on unemployment, economic growth, changing demographics, and wage trends by geographical regions.

Requirements:  Master’s Degree in Business Administration or Economics or related field.

To Apply:  FAX resume to  Source One Staffing, Attention: Elma Gonzales, Human Resources Manager FAX: (626)337-0221

 

 

New Poster Requirement for Employers

The National Labor Relations Board issued a new posting requirement that applies to all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act, whether unionized or not.   Under the ruling, employers are required to post, by January 31, 2012, a new notice that gives information to employees about their rights under the National Relations Act, the original effective date of November 14, 2011 was extended.  The notice must be posted in a conspicuous location where other labor and employment law posters are displaced, and must meet specific requirement as to content and size.  The NLRB provides a template notice on its website and is available for download, free of charge.  Although a number of organizations are challenging the rule, at the point such challenges have only postponed but not have eliminated the poster requirement.   Until such time all affected employers should comply no later than January 31 of 2012.

 

 

Stay on top of what’s new in the employment market here. Read the latest news, articles and press releases from Source One Staffing. Come back here often to get the latest scoop.

 

 

 

 

Relevant 2011 Laws

 

·         Reminder: Workers’ Comp Notice Requirements

Notice requirements were amended in 2010 to require additional information about Managed Professional Networks (MPNs).  Employers with MPNs that provide treatment for workers’ compensation claims must display the required workers’ compensation poster the employer uses.  The workers’ comp pamphlet must also include info about MPNs.

·         Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act (Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave)

Requires private employers with 15 or more employees to allow employees to take a leave of absence with pay for up to 30 days or a leave for up to 5 days for the purpose of organ and bone marrow donation.  Under the law, employers are prohibited from interfering with or retaliating against employees who take organ or bone marrow donation leave.  Employees returning from organ or bone marrow donation leave must be returned to the same or equivalent position they held when leave began.

·         Wage Claim Appeal – Bond Requirement Assembly Bill 2772

An employer filing an unpaid wage claim appeal must post a bond with the court in the amount of the judgment rendered in the administrative hearing.  Employers must also provide written notification to the other parties and the Labor Commissioner of the bond posting.

·         Investigating Serious Safety Violations Assembly Bill 2774

Establishes a rebuttable presumption as to when an employer commits a serious violation of Cal-OSHA provisions, and defines the term “serious physical harm.”  Also establishes new procedures and standards for an investigation and the determination by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of a serious violation by an employer that causes harm or exposes an employee to the risk of harm.

·         Exemptions to Meal Breaks Assembly Bill 569

Exempts construction workers, commercial drivers, certain security officers, and employees of electrical and gas corporations or local publicly owned electric utilities from California’s meal break requirements if those employees are covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement containing specified terms, including meal period provisions.

 ·         Providing Access for Persons with Disabilities

Department of Justice announced final regulations revising the agency’s ADA regulations.  The revisions include changes to the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, issues related to wheelchairs and mobility devices, service animals and sales of accessible seating tickets.

·         San Francisco Ordinance – Minimum Wage

San Francisco 2011 city minimum wage will increase to $9.92 per hour, effective January 1, 2011.

·         Heat Illness Regulations Revised

Revised heat illness standard went into effect November 4, 2010.  In addition to revisions related to shade and other safety precautions, the new standard includes changes to training requirements for both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees.  Such training is now required to be given before employees begin work that “should reasonably be anticipated to result in exposure to the risk of heat illness.”

·         Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final regulations that implement the employment regulations of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA).  GINA applies to private employers with 15 or more employees and generally prohibits employers from requesting an applicant’s or employee’s genetic information, even if the employer never uses that information.