Piecework bill signed by Brown
In the last round of bill signings, Gov Brown signed AB 1513 (Williams D) that provides an affirmative defense and safe harbor for employers who, by December 15, 2016, fully compensate their employees, as specified, for all under-compensated or uncompensated rest periods, recovery periods, or unproductive time between July 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015. While AB 1513 allows employers to come into compliance and avoid continued exposure from non-productive time wage claims, AB 1513 contains provisions that unfairly excludes participation by some employers. The safe-harbor exclusions, as expressly inserted by use of the March 1, 2014 date sacrifices some companies to continued legal exposure in exchange for legal protections afforded to others. Another provision excludes any company for which an active claim is open alleging the adding of “ghost” employees to reduce or eliminate employee wages from use of payment calculation formulas and exposure protections afforded by AB 1513. While primarily focused on agricultural work – the bill applies to construction as well and firms that have used piece-work are urged to contact their labor law attorney for additional guidance. You may also be interested in this training called Piece-Rate Bootcamp.
Employers’ ACA Reporting Deadlines Fast Approaching
Employers with ACA reporting obligations have only 3 months left—the first deadlines hit on February 1, 2016. One reporting obligation belongs to large employers. Another belongs to employers that sponsor self-funded plans that constitute minimum essential coverage. Read more.
How to Prove that You Offered An Employee Group Health Coverage
if you are a large employer (50 or more full-time equivalent employees) and you don’t require employees who waive coverage to sign a formal waiver, maybe it’s worth adding just one more page. Read more.
Safe Harbor Relief for Some Violations of Wage Statement Requirements
We have previously mention two new laws—both related to employee wage statements—give some California employers a safe harbor opportunity to avoid costly liability for small, technical, unintentional, or short-lived violations. AB 1506 allows employers to “cure” specific defects in wage statements that would otherwise trigger penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Read more.
NLRB Decision Changing the Test for Joint Employer Status
As the NLRB, traditionally the arbiter of all issues involving labor and unions, continues to broaden its reach into the world of non-union employers, it has begun to dismantle decades-old precedent along the way. Earlier this year, in one of its most high profile decisions to date, the Board overturned long-standing precedent regarding the test for joint-employer status in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California matter. Until Browning-Ferris, employers could rest easy knowing that the Board would not consider them joint employers with staffing agencies, contractors, and franchisees unless they actually exercised control over those entities’ employees. The Browning-Ferris decision removes the actual control requirement of the joint-employer test and, in doing so, the Board has shaken up the employment world. Read more.