Best Practices For California Employers

This week, a federal court in northern California certified portions of a class action Picture - driverbrought by Uber drivers who worked in California since 2009 (click here for the decision [PDF]).  Over 160,000 drivers have worked for Uber in California during this time period, and while the case is making a lot of news,

I was able to catch up with California Restaurant Association’s CEO, Jot Condie at the 2015 Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo.  We discuss the threats facing restaurateurs and the steps the CRA is taking to represent its members.

 

This Friday’s Five covers five employment law developments that occurred in August 2015 that will have an impact for employers in California.

1)     NLRB ruling widens which companies may be considered “joint employers”

In a 3-2 decision, the NLRB ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. was a joint employer with a staffing agency, Leadpoint

This Friday’s Five discusses five issues California employers should remember about whether they may require credit checks from applicants or employees.  And if employers can obtain the information, what additional considerations they should take into account when using this information for employment decisions and privacy concerns.

1.      Credit checks are different than background checks.

Since

Speaking with some clients, I sense their overwhelming confusion in setting up employment policies in California. While it can be a daunting task, I remind them that the key is to approach it in a systematic process, and once the system is in place, compliance can be very easy. While there are many issues employers

Even though employers allow employees to watch TV, surf the Internet, or even sleep, depending on the circumstances such on-call time, even if the employee is not doing any work, still may be required to be paid by the employer.  It has been clear since the 1940’s that employers have the obligation to pay employees

In July 2015, the Department of Labor proposed regulations that would increase the salary amount employers would need to pay for employees to qualify as exempt.  If adopted, the proposal would require that employees would have to earn at least $50,440 per year in order to qualify for most exemptions in 2016.  This episode

Many employers have new hire packets and hiring procedures, but just as important, and often overlooked by employers, is to have a process for departing employees. It is important to ensure an employee departing the company provides all items back to the company and is provided any legally required documentation, and is a good opportunity