Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP

Immediate Amendments to California’s New Sick Leave Law

Immediate Amendments to California’s New Sick Leave Law

Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 304 on Monday July 13, 2015, amending the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.  The Amendment went into effect immediately and changes key provisions of the law regarding calculation of the rate of pay, method of accrual of paid leave, and recordkeeping.

California’s new sick leave law went into full effect on July 1, 2015, requiring employers to provide three days of annual paid sick leave to virtually all employees.  But the law left many questions unanswered regarding exactly how to implement the new requirements, particularly for exempt employees and for employers with existing paid time off policies.  More>>

New “Quickie” NLRB Election Regulations on Union Representation Go Into Effect April 14, 2015

On March 31, 2015, President Obama vetoed a congressional resolution which sought to overturn new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules, calling for expedited elections as to whether an employer’s employees will be represented by a labor union.  Congress had criticized the new NLRB rules as creating “ambush” elections which do not give the employer sufficient time to communicate its message and educate employees about the disadvantages of union representation.

The new NLRB election rules will now go into effect on April 14, 2015.  The new rules will shorten the time between the filing of an election petition by a union seeking to represent an employer’s employees and the election date.  More>>

California’s New Sick Leave Law Mandates Notice Using State Form Starting January 1st

California’s new sick leave law will require employers to provide three days of annual paid sick leave to virtually all employees beginning on July 1, 2015.  However, the new law actually takes effect January 1, 2015, and imposes two immediate requirements upon employers:

Posting Requirement: By January 1, 2015, employers must post the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) poster regarding paid sick leave.  The poster can be found here, and printed on standard letter-sized printer paper.  If your company uses “all in one” labor compliance posters, be sure to confirm with your provider of such posters that the 2015 version includes the new DLSE sick leave notice. More>>

New California Law Requires Training to Prevent Workplace Bullying

California employers will soon be required to train supervisory employees on the subject of workplace bullying.  On September 9, 2014, Governor Brown approved a bill that requires employers to add this subject to the biennial anti-harassment training they are already required to provide to supervisory employees.

Currently, California employers with 50 or more employees must provide training to all supervisory employees every two years regarding prevention of sexual and other unlawful harassment, and prevention of unlawful discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.  Starting January 1, 2015, the training will also have to address the prevention of “abusive conduct.”

At first blush, employers might not view the addition of such training as particularly significant.  More>>

Employers Must Provide Three Days of Paid Sick Leave Each Year, Starting July 1, 2015

Beginning July 1, 2015, a new law will require California employers to provide virtually all of their employees with at least three days of annual paid sick leave.  Signed by Governor Brown on September 3, 2014, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 is very broad, applying to both exempt and non-exempt employees who work in California for 30 days or more each year.  Covered employees will accrue sick time at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.

Employers may limit an employee’s use of sick time to 24 hours per year, but accrued sick time carries over to the following year of employment.   More>>