Welcome! Today is

What's New

About NCPA

Board Members

Newsletter

Members Area

Meetings & Events

Job Board

NCPA Forum

Legislative Update

Links

Contact Us

Legislative Update April 2005

By Amy Doherty - Fisher & Phillips LLP

DOL Issues New USERRA Posting

President Bush recently signed the Veterans Benefits Improvements Act ("VBIA") into law. In addition to extending USERRA's COBRA-like period for continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits to up to 24 months, the VBIA now requires all employers to issue notice of USERRA rights, benefits and obligations. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs recently published a suitable notice on the DOL's web-site, which can be down-loaded at www.gov/vets. The notice should be posted where you customarily place other state and federally mandated notices, such as the current five-part federal composite posting.

The following bills affecting employers have been introduced for the current legislative session:

AB 640 - Individual Employee 4-Day Workweek Option

This Bill seeks to permit individual workers and their employers to mutually agree to a four-day workweek to achieve greater flexibility in work schedules. Currently, California law requires that overtime compensation be paid for work performed by an employee in excess of eight hours in a single day, regardless of whether the employee works fewer than 40 hours in that week.

California is one of only four states that do not conform wage laws to the national Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which bases its overtime compensation requirements for salaried, non-exempt employees on total hours worked per week, rather than total hours worked per day.

Under current law, California employers may institute alternative work schedules only if the affected employees agree to the arrangement in writing and by secret ballot. Employers must hold discussion meetings at least 14 days before voting. Two-thirds of the company's employees must agree to the change. Any deviation from the rigidly controlled process voids the election. Employers that are offering an alternative workweek schedule without going hrough an election process are operating in violation of the law.

AB 640 will permit an individual employee, with the consent of his/her employer, to work up to 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek, "with no set workweek." Overtime pay would not be required in such a case.

AB 20 and SB 855 - ADA Reform

As many businesses have learned the hard way, access requirements of the Americans' With Disabilities Act ("ADA") have become a growing source of unnecessary lawsuits. For example, the ADA requires a business that is open to the public to have designated disabled parking and no steps or curbs blocking an entrance to the business. Restrooms and aisles must be able to accommodate patrons with wheelchairs and counter-tops cannot be too high. A disabled person who has been denied access to a public building because of access violations can file a lawsuit under the ADA.

Employers generally support the ADA and its objectives. The problem, however, is how the law has been enforced and how lawyers seem to end up being the ones who benefit financially from the lawsuits. Unfortunately, small businesses throughout the state have been targeted by plaintiff-lawyer teams who file lawsuits alleging the same violation against numerous businesses in an area. In response, this bill attempts to create a process where businesses will have the opportunity to make a good faith effort to correct an alleged ADA violation before being subject to a lawsuit.

AB 1302 - Understandable Rules

This legislation would require state agencies to examine and understand the economic impacts a proposed rule might have on small businesses. The theory behind the legislation is that regulatory mandates and costs have a disproportionate impact on small businesses.

AB 1709 - Understandable Language

There is also legislation to require workplace posters and regulations to be written in plain language so employers and employees can understand them easily.

AB 822 - Modernizing Pay Practices

This bill seeks to permit additional practices for payment of employee wages in California. Currently, three pay options are available in California: 1) a worker may be paid in cash, as long as a written or printed pay stub is provided; 2) a worker may be provided a paper paycheck and pay stub that must be cashable for free at some established place of business in the state, the name and address of which must appear on the paycheck; or 3) a worker may be paid by direct deposit into their bank account.

Other states allow companies to pay wages through a pay card. Typically, the company establishes a trust account with a financial institution and deposits the employee's wages in that account. The employee then is issued a credit card-sized pay card at no cost. The worker is not required to have a bank account to use the pay card system, and may use the card like an ATM or debit card.

AB 793 - UI Tax Amnesty

This bill seeks to implement an unemployment insurance tax amnesty program by encouraging an influx of payments from employers who have previously not paid or have underpaid their unemployment insurance ("UI") tax. According to the California Chamber of Commerce, California's unemployment insurance system skirted insolvency in 2004 by borrowing money from the federal Department of Labor. Projections by the state Employment Development Department show that unless such action is taken, the UI trust fund will continue to teeter on the brink of insolvency due to a structural imbalance between income and disbursements as a result of benefit increases signed into law by former Governor Davis.

Fisher & Phillips LLP is a national law firm representing employers exclusively in labor and employment matters. Amy Doherty works in the San Diego office of Fisher & Phillips LLP and can be reached at (858) 597-9600.

ARCHIVED ARTICLES & PRESENTATIONS

PUT DOWN THAT CELL PHONE! NEW CALIFORNIA LAW WILL SOON BE IN PLACE
July 2008. By Amy Lessa
GETTING TO KNOW GINA - THE GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT
June 2008. By Amy Lessa
THE SCOOP FROM SACRAMENTO: PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
May 2008. By Amy Lessa
Supreme Court Issues Non-Decision on “Me Too” Evidence
April 2008. By Amy Lessa
UNDERSTANDING THE “TOOL RATE”
January 2008. By Amy Lessa
UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE: NEW LAWS FOR 2008
October 2007. By Amy Lessa
THE COUNTDOWN ON 2007 PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
August 2007. By Amy Lessa
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY DISCRIMINATION
July 2007. By Amy Lessa
California Supreme Court Ruling Could Quadruple Potential Damages
June 2007. By Amy Lessa
The Scoop From Sacramento: Proposed Employment Legislation
May 2007. By Amy Lessa
United States Citizenship and Immigration Open Enrollment for Work Visa
April 2007. By Amy Lessa