Important HR updates from Silvers HR

Bottom Line Human Resources Issues

Winter 2020

Read about COVID-19 Notice Requirements, A Major CFRA update, and 2021 Minimum Wage Increases.

Also, 2021 Training calendar is posted and a reminder about your 2021 Employment Notifications!

Even More Covid-19 Notice and Reporting Requirements Coming New Year’s Day

Assembly Bill 685 (“AB 685”), signed by the Governor on September 17, 2020, and effective on January 1, 2021, amends several provisions of California’s Health and Safety and Labor Codes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including exhaustive notice requirements in the event of a COVID-19 exposure, and enhanced reporting requirements to local health authorities in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. Here's a brief outline of the new mandates.

First, the law mandates written notification to all employees and employers of subcontracted employees following a known “potential exposure” to COVID-19 in the workplace. Written notice must also be provided to the exclusive representatives, including unions, if any.

California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) Expansion – For Just About Everyone and Their Brother

Senate Bill 1383 (“SB 1383”), signed by the Governor on September 17, 2020, expands the CFRA to all employers with five or more employees. SB 1383 makes it an unlawful employment practice for any employer, with five or more employees, among other things, to deny or refuse to grant a request by an employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave to bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent-in-law, spouse or domestic partner with a serious health condition.

There is much more to this bill, but first a little history into two of California’s leave laws. The state’s California Family Rights Act, passed in 1993 and modeled after the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), provides 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to bond with a new child of the employee, or for the employee to care for themselves, a child under age 18 (or a child over the age of 18 who is incapable of self-care), a parent, or a spouse with a serious health condition. CFRA currently entitles employees to 12-weeks of leave for employees who work for a covered employer at a jobsite with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius and provides job reinstatement rights and continuation of health benefits for employees who have at least 1,250 hours of service during the prior 12-month period. Then in 2017, California passed the New Parent Leave Act which provided unpaid job protected time to an employee to bond with a new child if the employee worked at a jobsite with 20 or more employees in a 75-mile radius. Going forward, CFRA is going to touch far more employers in the state of California, so please keep reading for the additional changes to California leave laws.

With the passing of SB 1383 all employers with five or more employees need to pay close attention to these changes. Here is a quick overview of the changes effective January 1, 2021:

California Minimum Wage Increase (Reminder)

Senate Bill 3 (“SB 3”) passed in 2016 detailed an increase of the state’s minimum wage over future years, providing smaller employers one additional year to reach the level of larger employers’ minimum wage rates.

On January 1, 2021, the state minimum wage will increase from $13.00 per hour to $14.00 per hour for all employers with 26 or more employees and from $12.00 per hour to $13.00 per hour for all employers with fewer than 26 employees.

The minimum wage will increase for employers with 26 or more employees is as follows:

January 1, 2021 -- $14.00 per hour
January 1, 2022 -- $15.00 per hour

For employers with fewer than 26 employees, the minimum wage increases as follows:

January 1, 2021 -- $13.00 per hour
January 1, 2022 -- $14.00 per hour
January 1, 2023 -- $15.00 per hour

2021 Posters and Pamphlets

We are still taking pre-orders* for 2021 CA & Federal Employment Posters and Pamphlets.

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*We don't have an estimated shipping date yet, but anticipate it will be after January 1, 2021

Silvers HR, LLC

This ezine is intended as a communication and thought provoking tool for our clients and friends.

It is not legal advice.