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I’m tired of HR getting push to the corner of the executive suite meetings.  I get to see firsthand on a daily basis about how effective HR departments (or even CEOs, CFOs, or other company leaders) who recognize the importance of personally connecting with employees and helping employees develop, are more profitable organizations with reduced litigation costs.  Full disclosure, I developed (i.e., stole) many of these ideas after hearing Gary Vaynerchuk talk about how he values HR so much that he is not just the CEO of VaynerMedia, but he is the head of HR as well.  This Friday’s Five focuses on five reasons why HR needs to be a more critical role in your company:

1. It does not matter what your title or job is – CEO, CFO, HR, or even pilot – you still must have a personal touch.

A few years ago, I took my son to the Red Bull Air Races.  We had a great day watching the pilots racing over the shores of Mission Bay in San Diego.  My son was young, and I debated attending a meet-and-greet with the pilots put on by Red Bull.  The fact that Red Bull put this event on shows that they understand personal relationships in the business context.  So I drove my four year old son to Fox Field east of San Diego to see what it was all about.  Upon arriving, many of the pilots were standing next to their airplanes and had taken down the rope they could have used to protect their planes (and themselves) from the public.  We were able to actually meet most of the pilots, talk to them, and even take pictures with them.  Here were pilots that are some of the best in the world – Kirby Chambliss, Nigel Lamb, and Paul Bonhomme – and they were connecting with fans.  The pilots we met, took pictures with, and spoke to became my son’s (and my) most favorite competitors in the air races.  Still to this day, we still talk about this event, and when we see the air races on TV we are supporting the pilots we met and spoke with.  Gary Vaynerchuk calls it the Ricky Henderson effect, I refer to it as the Nigel Lamb effect (picture of my son and Nigel to the right).

These pilots probably never expected that to be a great pilot that they needed to know how to talk to kids and the public.  But it is this skill that differentiates these pilots from those flying cargo planes.  Plus, they were investing time into making the air races more popular, which equals more profit in the long run.

2. Personal understanding and connections cannot be faked.

It is also important to note that we could easily see which pilots actually liked the meet-and-greet, and the pilots who were only doing it because they had to.  This is a skill that cannot be faked.  If an organization tries to fake the personal aspect of HR, every employee will easily see through this hypocrisy.  It is better to simply not spend the time and money to pretend caring about employees, skip this step, and at least not be viewed as a hypocritical company.

3. Treating employees fairly and on a personal level will reduce litigation.

I’ve written about this before and even though I don’t have any empirical data to prove it, I’m sure Steve Jobs created litigation costs for Apple in the way he treated employees.  To be clear, there is nothing illegal about being a jerk to employees, but most employees don’t understand this.  If an employee feels disrespected they will want to get even, and to get even with the company they will file a lawsuit – meritorious or not.  Plus, with increased turnover, employers are likely to have increased employment litigation.

4. Hard skills are only part of the equation.

It is important for an organization to recognize the A-players who create discontent and chaos in the company are not worth the cost.  These type of employees will eventually bring the entire organization down.  Employees don’t want to deal with assholes, no matter how great the assholes are at their job.  Eventually (this might not be immediate, but will definitely occur over time) the other A-level employees who like being on a team and being treated with respect will leave.

5. HR should be more than filling out paperwork and providing parking cards.

I would argue that a good HR department should delegate task such as providing new hire paperwork or tracking employee’s down if they have not signed the employee handbook.  While the policies and documentation are critical, HR must be viewed as more than the department or person that is responsible for enforcing the policies, making sure paperwork is completed, and throwing a holiday party once a year.  If the paperwork aspect of the job takes away from creating relationships with employees, companies should consider having some other department handle obtaining information for the new hire packets, getting handbooks signed, and following up to ensure that supervisors have satisfied their sexual harassment training every two years.  Having HR focus on the employee development and satisfaction, not the paperwork, could also send a message to employees that the company understands and cares about HR.

In speaking to a few groups of California employers this week, a common question kept coming up about what are the essential Booksemployment policies California employers must have?  While there are more than five, this week’s Friday’s Five starts with what I consider to be critical policies that every California must have in place.

1. At-will policy

Under California law, it is presumed that all employment is terminable at-will. California Labor Code section 2922 provides: “An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other.” The at-will doctrine means that the employment relationship can be terminated by either party at any time, with or without cause, and with or without advanced notice. There are some major exceptions to this rule, but generally California law recognizes that employers and employees may, at any time, and for any legal reason, terminate the employment relationship.

2. Anti-harassment, discrimination and retaliation policy

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council published new regulations pertaining to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment requirements effective April 1, 2016.  Employers need to review and potentially update their policies in order to meet the new requirements.  The full text of the regulations can be obtained here.

3. Timekeeping policy

California law requires employers to track start and stop times for hourly, non-exempt employees. The law also requires employer to track the start and stop times for the employee’s thirty minute meal periods. The time system needs to be accurate, and the employer needs to be involved in the installation and setup of the system. Do not simply use the default settings for the hardware and software. Understand what the system is tracking and how it is recording the data. Since the statute of limitations for California wage and hour violations can extent back four years, it is recommended that employers take steps to keep these records at least four years.  Employers should also have a complaint procedure in place and regularly communicate the policy to employees in order to establish an effective way to remedy any issues.

4. Meal and rest break policy

As I’ve written about many times previously, employers must have a compliant meal and rest break policy.  Indeed, given the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Augustus v. ABM Security Services in December 2016, employers should review their rest beak policy to ensure it complies with this ruling.

5. Paid sick leave policy

Many local governments in Southern California have passed laws increasing the minimum wage and amount of paid sick leave that must be provided to employees.  Employers must ensure they are complying with the law that provides the most benefits to employees.  Here is a brief summary of some of the local laws in Southern California:

State/City Minimum Wage Paid Sick Leave
1) California $10/hr January 1, 2016; $10.50 January 1, 2017; $11/hr January 1, 2018; $12/hr January 1, 2019; $13/hr January 1, 2020; $14/hr January 1, 2021; $15/hr January 2022* Current: 3 days or 24 hours
2) Los Angeles – City (click here for more information about Los Angeles City’s minimum wage and paid sick leave laws) July 1, 2016: $10.50/hr; July 1, 2017 $12; July 1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00 * (click here for more information about Los Angeles’s minimum wage ordinance) July 1, 2016: 48 hours*
3) Los Angeles – County (applies to unincorporated cities in LA County) Same as LA City (see above) No specific requirement – state law applies
4) San Diego City July 2016: $10.50 (date not set yet – likely effective in first half of July 2016); January 1, 2017 $11.50; January 1, 2019 $11.82; January 1, 2020 $12.15; January 1, 2021 $12.49; January 1, 2022 $12.84 5 paid sick days
5) Santa Monica (click here for Santa Monica’s website for details of the law) $10.50 July 1, 2016; July 1, 2017 $12.00; July 1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00* January 1, 2017: 32 hours for small businesses, 40 hours for large businesses; January 1, 2018: 40 hours for small business, 72 hours for large businesses*
*Employers with 25 or fewer employees the implementation is delayed one year.

Happy Memorial day weekend!

Expense reimbursement may seem like a small issue in comparison with the other areas of liability facing California employers, but the Old Carexposure for not appropriately reimbursing employees can be substantial. In Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the parameters of mileage reimbursement under California law, as well as the three different methods available for employers to reimburse employees for their mileage reimbursement.  This Friday’s Five post discusses five issues employers need to know about automobile and mileage reimbursement under California law.

1. Mileage reimbursement based on IRS mileage rate is presumed to reimburse employee for all actual expenses

The IRS publishes standard mileage rates each year (and sometimes adjusts these rates during the year). The 2017 IRS mileage rate is as follows:

  • 53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 54 cents for 2016
  • 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 19 cents for 2016
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

If the employee challenges the amount reimbursed, the employee bears the burden to show how the “amount that the employer has paid is less than the actual expenses that the employee has necessarily incurred for work-required automobile use (as calculated using the actual expense method), the employer must make up the difference.” Gattuso, at 479.

The California Supreme Court also held that the reimbursement rate can be negotiated by parties as long as it fully reimburses the employee, and the amount does not have to be set at the IRS mileage rate. The Court also warned that employee cannot waive the right to be fully reimbursed for their actual expenses:

We agree that, as with other terms and conditions of employment, a mileage rate for automobile expense reimbursement may be a subject of negotiation and agreement between employer and employee. Under section 2804, however, any agreement made by the employee is null and void insofar as it waives the employee’s rights to full expense reimbursement under [Labor Code] section 2802.

Gattuso, at 479.

2. Actual expense method of reimbursement

In examining the different methods of reimbursement, the Supreme Court held that the actual expense method is the most accurate, but it is also the most burdensome for both the employer and the employee. Gattuso, at 478. Under the actual expense method, the parties calculate the automobile expenses that the employee actually and necessarily incurred and then the employer separately pays the employee that amount. The actual expenses of using an employee’s personal automobile for business purposes include: fuel, maintenance, repairs, insurance, registration, and depreciation.

3. Mileage reimbursement method

The Court recognized that employers may simplify calculating the amount owed to an employee by paying an amount based on a “total mileage driven.” Gattuso, at 479.

Under the mileage reimbursement method, the employee only needs to keep a record of the number of miles driven for job duties. The employer then multiplies the miles driven by a predetermined amount that approximates the per-mile cost of owning and operating an automobile. The Court recognized that the mileage rate agreed to between the employer and employee is “merely an approximation of actual expenses” and is less accurate than the actual expense method. It is important to note that while this amount can be negotiated, the employee still is unable to waive their right to reimbursement of their actual costs as mentioned above.

4. Lump sum payment method

Under the lump sum method, the employee need not submit any information to the employer about work-required miles driven or automobile expenses incurred. The employer merely pays an agreed fixed amount for automobile expense reimbursement. Gattuso, at 480. This type of lump sum payment is often labeled as a per diem, car allowance, or gas stipend.

In Gattuso, the Court made it clear that employers paying a lump sum amount have the extra burden of separately identifying and documenting the amounts that represent payment for labor performed and the amounts that represent reimbursement for business expenses.

5. Don’t forget about other expenses incurred in the “course and scope” of working

In addition to mileage, employers may also have to reimburse employees for other costs they incurred in driving their personal cars for business. In making the determination about whether an employee’s actions are in the “course and scope” of their job, courts examine whether the expense being sought by the employee is “not so unusual or startling that it would seem unfair to include loss or expense among other costs of the employer’s business.” Employers need to be mindful about reimbursing employees for cell phone use, printing and office supplies (if employee is required to maintain a home office or use personal printer for work), and other work related expenses.

Happy Friday!  This Friday’s Five covers five areas that employers can start with in conducting an employment practices Checklistsaudit.  Coming up on the mid-point of the year, it is a good time to conduct an employment law practices audit to ensure that policies are compliant, managers are properly trained, and the company is maintaining the required records for the necessary length of time.  Here are five areas to start with in conducting an audit and a few recommended questions for each topic:

1. Hiring Practices

  • Are applications seeking appropriate information?
    • For example: Be careful about local ban the box regulations.
  • Are new hires provided with required policies and notices?
  • Are new hires provided and acknowledge recommended policies?
    • For example: meal period waivers for shifts less than six hours
  • Are hiring managers trained about the correct questions to ask during the interview?
  • Does the company provide new hires (and existing employees) with arbitration agreements with class action waivers?

 2. Records

  • Are employee files maintained confidentially and for at least four years?
  • Are employee time records maintained for at least four years?
  • Are employee schedules maintained for at least four years?
  • Do the managers have set forms for the following:
    • Employee discipline and write-ups
    • Documenting employee tardiness
  • How is the employee documentation provided to Human Resources or the appropriate manager?
  • Who is involved in reviewing disability accommodation requests?
  • How are employee absences documented?

3. Wage and Hour Issues

  • Does the company have its workweeks and paydays established?
  • Are paydays within the applicable time limits after the pay period as required under the law?
  • Are employees provided with compliant itemized wage statements?
  • Are employees provided a writing setting out their accrued paid sick leave each pay period?
  • Are employees properly classified as exempt or nonexempt?
    • For exempt employees, review their duties and salary to ensure they meet the legal requirements to be an exempt employee.
  • Any workers classified as independent contractors, and if so, could they be considered employees?
  • Are nonexempt employees properly compensated for all overtime worked?
  • Is off-the-clock work prohibited?
    • Policy in place?
    • Are managers trained about how to recognize it and what disciplinary actions to take if find employees working off-the-clock?
  • Does the company’s time keeping system round employee’s time?
    • If so, is the rounding policy compliant with the law?
  • Are meal and rest period policies set out in handbook and employees routinely reminded of policies?
    • Does the company pay “premium pay” for missed meal and rest breaks? If so, how is this documented on the employee pay stub?
    • Do employees record meal breaks?
    • Are managers trained on how to administer breaks and what actions to take if employees miss meal or rest breaks?
  • Is vacation properly documented and tracked?
  • Are all deductions from the employee’s pay check legally permitted? (use caution, very few deductions are permitted under CA law)
  • Are employees reimbursed for all business expenses, such as uniforms, work equipment and miles driven for work?

 4.End of Employment Issues

  • Are employees leaving the company provided their final wages, including payment for all accrued and unused vacation time?
  • Does the employer deduct any items from an employee’s final paycheck?
    • If so, are the deductions legally permitted?

5. Anti-harassment, discrimination and retaliation

  • Are supervisors provided with sexual harassment training every two years? (If employer has 50 or more employees, supervisors are legally required to have a two-hour harassment prevention training that complies with AB 1825 and amendments to this law).
  • Are supervisors and managers mentioning the open-door policy of the company to employees at routine meetings with employees? Is this being documented?

Please let me know if you have any other items your company considers during review of employment policies – it would be great to update this list to share with readers.  Have a great weekend.

This Friday’s Five comes on Cinco de Mayo – how appropriate.  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Working Family Flexibility Act, now it is being consideredfamily - school by the Senate.  President Trump has indicated that he would sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.  Five issues California employers need to understand surrounding comp time:

1. What does the Working Family Flexibility Act provide?

The law passed by the U.S. House of Representatives adds sections to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by allowing employers to offer employees compensatory time instead of paying them for overtime worked.  The bill provides for the following:

  • Comp time is accrued at the rate of not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime pay is required under the FLSA;
  • Private employers that are not unionized are required to enter into a written agreement with the employee about the comp time, and the agreement must be voluntarily entered into by the employee; and
  • The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours for the employer for a continuous period in the 12-month period before being eligible for comp time.

2. The Federal legislation will unlikely effect California employers

California law generally prohibits most employers from offering comp time in lieu of paid overtime.  California law requires employers to pay overtime on a more stringent basis than the FLSA (below is a description of California’s daily overtime requirements).  California’s Labor Code specifically prohibits any employee from waiving their rights to overtime under the Labor Code.  See Section 1194.  Therefore, because California law is more stringent and provides employees more protection than the FLSA (and the proposed Working Family Flexibility Act), California employers would still need to comply with California law even if the Working Family Flexibly Act is passed into federal law.

3. California’s unwaivable daily overtime requirements

Under California’s Labor Code, time and a half overtime is due for (1) time over eight hours in one day or (2) over 40 hours in one week or (3) the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day worked in a single workweek; and double time is due for (1) time over 12 hours in one day and (2) hours worked beyond eight on the seventh consecutive day in a single workweek. The DLSE provides a good summary here.

4. California employers can offer makeup time to employees, but there are strict requirements that must be meet

California employers are not without any options however, as it is easy to forget the one form of flexibility provided to California employers: makeup time. This provision allows employers to avoid paying overtime when employees want to take off an equivalent amount of time during the same work week. There are, however, a few requirements that must be met to ensure that the employer is not required to pay overtime for the makeup time.  For instance:

  • An employee may work no more than 11 hours on another workday, and not more than 40 hours in the workweek to make up for the time off;
  • The time missed must be made up within the same workweek;
  • The employee needs to provide a signed written request to the employer for each occasion that they want to makeup time (and if employers permit makeup time, they should have a carefully drafted policy on makeup time and a system to document employee requests); and
  • Employers cannot solicit or encourage employees to request makeup time, but employers may inform employees of this option.

5. Will the federal legislation influence California to provide similar flexibility to workers?

If the Working Family Flexibility Act becomes federal law, it is unlikely to influence California’s legislators to draft a similar state law.  The Democrats in the U.S. House all voted against the bill, and the left is vehemently opposed to the bill, even though it provides for the payment of all comp time accrued but not used when the employee leaves employment.  Such opposition from the Democrats make it unlikely to be considered in the California legislature.

 

Almost two years after California’s requirement to provide employees with paid sick leave, there are still many outstanding questions about California’s Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014.  These issues still exist even after Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 3 on April 2016 amending the Act attempting to clarify a few provisions of the law.

In this Friday’s Five video I discuss a few of the common questions employers still have about the law, such as:

  • When can attendance policies violate the law?
  • Can employers require doctor’s notes from employees who take paid sick leave?
  • Can employers discipline employees to taking leave and not providing advance notice after they exhausted their paid sick leave?

For more information, visit the Department of Industrial Relations frequently asked questions page here.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the Employment Law Report’s YouTube channel to receive notification about new videos.

Sorry for the late post, but there were some server upgrades for my blog on Friday.  Have a great week.

Welcome to another Friday’s Five video.  In this video I discuss five things every California employer needs to know about meal and rest breaks.  The items consists of a some reminders, but also new court decisions issued in December 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.  This is always a topic employers need to continually pay attention to in California.

Here are links to articles I’ve published as referenced in the video:
Timing requirements for meal and rest breaks

Rest break requirements when employees still subject to recall by employer

Commissioned and piece rate employees must be compensated separately for rest breaks

Happy Friday.  As always, please let me know if you have any suggestions for topics for future posts.

Many cities and counties across California are set to increase their minimum wages in July 2017, and employers need to start preparing now.  For example, Los Angeles City and County are increasing the minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees to $12 per hour on July 1, 2017 (currently at $10.50 per hour). This Friday’s Five video covers five issues that employers should start to review in order to comply with these increases in the minimum wage.

For more information about the local minimum wages in place throughout California:

San Diego: http://www.californiaemploymentlawrep…

Los Angeles: http://www.californiaemploymentlawrep… and http://www.californiaemploymentlawrep…

Southern California overview of various minimum wage requirements: http://www.californiaemploymentlawrep…

Sample model pay stub: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/PayStub.pdf

 

In a recent decision, Ramirez v. ISB Mehta Corp., a restaurant successfully defended a lawsuit filed by a former manager claiming that he was misclassified as an exempt employee.  While the case is not officially published, it provides a few good lessons for restaurant operators’ classification of their employees.  This Friday’s Five focuses on the lessons illustrated by this case:

1. Employers must approach classifying employees as exempt carefully

In Ramirez v. ISB Mehta, the plaintiff worked for Erik’s DeliCafe, a franchised restaurant in the Bay Area.  The plaintiff filed a class action alleging that he was misclassified as an exempt employee and was entitled to overtime compensation because his duties as a manager primarily involved nonexempt work.

The plaintiff testified that his daily duties including counting cash, entering daily sales information, making daily bank deposits, writing checks, placing food orders, buying produce, marketing, preparing and delivering catering orders, and working the register (taking walk-in customer orders). Defendant provided plaintiff with a cell phone, but paid plaintiff $100 a month for the service.

The trial court rejected plaintiff’s overtime compensation and minimum wage claims, finding that he was an exempt employee under both the executive and administrative exemptions defined in Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 5-2001.  The court found that plaintiff was primarily engaged in activities falling within those exemptions, such as:

  • directing the work of others;
  • authorized to hire and fire;
  • customarily and regularly exercising independent judgment; and
  • regularly and directly assisting the owner of the business

The evidence established that the employee’s duties and responsibilities also involved performance of non-manual work directly related to management policies or general business operations, and Employee was paid a salary more than twice the minimum wage.

Click here for common exempt classifications.

2. To meet the executive exemption, the employer must meet six requirements

The court explained to meet the executive exemption, the following must be met:

The executive exemption has six components: (1) the employee’s “duties and responsibilities involve the management of the enterprise in which he/she is employed,” (2) the employee “customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees,” (3) the employee “has the authority to hire or fire other employees …,” (4) the employee “customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment,” and (5) the employee earns a monthly salary “no less than two (2) times the state minimum wage for full time [40 hour per week] employment.” (Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 11050, subd. 1(B)(1)(a)-(d), (f).)

The remaining component, at issue here, requires the employee to be “primarily engaged in duties which meet the test of the exemption.” (Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 11050, subd. 1(B)(1)(e).)

3. Factors to review when employee is performing both exempt and nonexempt duties to determine if the employee spends more than 50% of their time on exempt duties

The court set out the factors used in determining if the employee spends more than 50% of their time on managerial duties when the employee performs both managerial and non-managerial work:

Work performed by a nonexempt employee is generally nonexempt work when performed by the supervisor; (2) the regulations do not recognize hybrid activities (activities having both exempt and nonexempt aspects); (3) identical tasks may be exempt or nonexempt depending on the manager’s purpose in engaging in the task or the task’s role in the work of the organization; and (4) in large retail establishments when certain tasks are customarily assigned to nonexempt employees, the performance of that work by a manager is nonexempt. (Heyen, supra, 216 Cal.App.4th at pp. 822-823.)

The court found that in this case bookkeeping tasks, maintaining inventory and ordering supplies and marketing the restaurant were exempt duties.

Click here for my prior article for examples of duties that usually are exempt duties.

4. Employers bear the burden to prove that an employee is exempt

California courts have made clear that the employer bears the burden of proof when asserting that an employee is an exempt employee.  “[T]he assertion of an exemption from the overtime laws is considered to be an affirmative defense, and therefore the employer bears the burden of proving the employee’s exemption.”  Ramirez v. Yosemite Water Co. (1999).

5. Even though the employer prevailed in this lawsuit, it can be risky to classify restaurant managers classified as exempt

While the employer prevailed in this case, the case illustrates the close factual analysis required in determining whether an employee meets an exempt classification.  Especially in the restaurant context, it is likely that managers will be performing both nonexempt and exempt duties.  It is very easy for disgruntled employees to contend after the fact that their duties primarily consisted of nonexempt, non-managerial tasks.

Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill – AB 450 – that would put employers between the federal government and the state of California in the immigration debate.  Basically, the bill imposes penalties on employers who cooperate or do not notify the state of federal immigration actions taking place at their locations.  As set out in a statement issued by Assemblymember Chiu, the bill does the following:

  • Protecting workers from being wrongfully detained in their workplace by requiring employers to ask for a judicial warrant before granting ICE access to a worksite.
  • Preventing employers from sharing confidential employee information, such as a social security number, without a subpoena.
  • Requiring employers to notify the Labor Commissioner and employee representative of a worksite raid. Employers must also notify the Labor Commissioner, employees, and employee representatives of an I-9 audit.
  • Preventing employers from retaliating against employees who report labor claims by enabling workers crucial to a labor claim investigation to receive certification from the Labor Commissioner. This certification would both protect the worker and aid in successfully adjudicating labor violations.

The current version of the bill creates the following obligations for employers:

  • prohibit an employer from providing a federal immigration enforcement agent access to a place of labor without a properly executed warrant and would prohibit an employer, or a person acting on behalf of the employer, from providing voluntary access to a federal government immigration enforcement agent to the employer’s employee records without a subpoena
  • require an employer to provide an employee, and the employee’s representative, a written notice containing specified information, in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment information, of an immigration worksite enforcement action to be conducted by a federal immigration agency at the employer’s worksite, unless prohibited by federal law
  • require an employer to provide to an affected employee, and to the employee’s representative, a copy of the written federal immigration agency notice describing the results of an immigration worksite enforcement audit or inspection and written notice of the obligations of the employer and the affected employee arising from the action
  • require an employer to notify the Labor Commissioner of a federal government immigration agency immigration worksite enforcement action within 24 hours of receiving notice of the action and, if the employer does not receive advance notice, to immediately notify the Labor Commission upon learning of the action, unless prohibited by federal law
  • require an employer to notify the Labor Commissioner before conducting a self-audit or inspection of specified employment eligibility verification forms, and before checking the employee work authorization documents of a current employee, unless prohibited by federal law

Failure to meet any of the obligations would create liability for employers of not less than $10,000 and not more than $25,000 for each violation.  This creates a potential legal conundrum for employers who have a responsibility to comply with federal immigration laws.  Under this proposed bill employers could face fines under state law for not following these requirements, but on the other hand employers face penalties for not complying with federal immigration laws.  The bill makes employers responsible for these difficult legal determinations in interpreting state and federal obligations, in addition to requiring them to become legal experts in determining if the federal government has a “properly executed search warrant” for example.