Approximately 15 years ago California became the first state to provide paid time off to workers to care for a new child or ailing family member.  The law, which is funded by required worker contributions, provides for up to 6 weeks of wage replacement in connection with certain qualifying events, which events include the temporary disability of an individual worker, caring for certain family members, bonding with a minor child within one year of

birth, or the placement of a child in connection with foster care or adoption.  This week Governor Jerry Brown expanded that law by signing ...

On Monday Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 3, a bill which will gradually increase minimum wages in California in a manner that is very similar to the Los Angeles ordinance, except that the state increases will not be complete until 2023 (the Los Angeles increases begin on July 1, 2016 with a $10.50 per hour requirement for businesses with 26 or more employees and will continue until the rate reaches $15 per hour on July 1, 2020; Los Angeles allows that smaller businesses with 25 or fewer employees will have an additional year to match the increases).   The first increase starts next year on ...

A trial set for January 26 will confront whether Sears should be held liable for emotional distress of customers and employees who allegedly suffered from a Sears employee installing peepholes and video cameras in women’s changing rooms in a North Hollywood Sears location. The Daily Journal reached out Kelly Scott, ECJ’s Employment Law head, to get perspective from an employer’s standpoint in the article titled “Sears faces liability for peeping tom employee.”

This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. It is essentially the random ...

QUESTION: I heard California’s fraudulent transfer law is being changed. How will the changes affect my ability to pursue fraudulent transfers as a receiver?

ANSWER: Earlier this year the California legislature, based on a proposal made by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (“Uniform Law Commission”), adopted amendments to California’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (Civil Code §3439 et. seq.) which take effect on January 1, 2016. While most of the changes are not significant, they will take getting used to. The major change is there will no ...

For the first time in human history, or at least a very long time, the mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes have declined. Specifically, beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015
• 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 23 cents for 2015
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The IRS standard ...

As we start a new year, employers should check all of their employment practices to make sure they are compliant with current laws and regulations. One of the many changes made in 2016 were comprehensive amendments made by the Fair Employment & Housing Council to the California Code of Regulations regarding the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The regulations took effect on July 1, 2015 and were intended to conform the CFRA more closely with its federal counterpart, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and to clarify some areas of uncertainty. Among other things, the ...

Senate Bill 501 changes the amount of an employee’s weekly earnings that would be exempt from a wage garnishment order in California. Currently the amount subject to garnishment cannot exceed the lesser of 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings and the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for the week exceed 40 times the state minimum wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. Beginning on July 1, 2016, the maximum amount subject to garnishment will change to the lesser of 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings for the week or 50% of the amount by ...

Assembly Bill 1509 amends sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 6310 of the California Labor Code by extending certain retaliatory protections afforded to employees to their family members who work for the same employer. Under existing law, employers are prohibited from discharging an employee or taking an adverse action against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant has engaged in protected conduct, such as filing a written complaint with a government agency based on employment conditions. Effective January 1, 2016, such retaliatory protections will ...

By amending sections 558, 1197, and 1197.1 of the California Labor Code, Assembly Bill 970 authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate and, at the request of local government, enforce local laws regarding overtime hours or minimum wage provisions. The Labor Commissioner may issue citations and penalties for violations, except when local government has already issued a citation for the same violation. In addition, AB 970 amends section 2802 of the California Labor Code by authorizing the Labor Commissioner to issue citations and penalties to employers for violating the ...

Assembly Bill 622, which takes effect on January 1, 2016, adds section 2814 to the California Labor Code. Section 2814 prohibits employers from using E-Verify to check the employment authorization status of an existing employee or an applicant who has not been offered employment, except as required by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds. Furthermore, upon using the E-Verify system, if the employer receives a tentative non-confirmation issued by the Social Security Administration or the United States Department of Homeland Security which indicates the ...