Every year, California’s courts and state Legislature create volumes of new law. The year 2015 was no exception to that rule, and starting Jan. 1 many new laws affecting businesses became effective. Here are a few news laws that may be critical for your business:
Increase in minimum wage
The minimum wage in California is now $10 per hour, which is the highest minimum wage in the country. This is the second minimum wage increase in California in a year and a half. In 2014, the minimum wage was raised from $8 to $9 per hour.
In some California cities such as San Francisco and Oakland, the minimum wage is even higher, but all of Napa County remains at the state-established minimum of $10 per hour.
The California Fair Pay Act (SB 358)
It has been the law in California since 1949 that equal work requires equal pay among men and women. Despite this law, gender pay inequality remains a problem in the state.
The new California Fair Pay Act is designed to reduce the availability of loopholes and workarounds that previously made it difficult to compare employee wages for purposes of equal pay evaluation, and to improve transparency to ensure that employers abide by the state’s equal pay laws.
The law reduces the evidentiary hurdles that employees must pass to prove unequal pay based upon gender.
Previously, the employee had to prove that other employees within the same establishment were being paid more for “equal work.” Now, employees do not need to prove that the other person is within the same establishment, meaning the employee can compare the wages paid to employees working at different locations of the same company.
Additionally, the “equal work” requirement has been replaced with the standard of proving that the work is “substantially similar,” in terms of skill, responsibility and working conditions.
Once the employee has shown unequal pay for substantially similar work, it becomes the employer’s burden to prove that no such difference based upon gender exists, based upon either seniority, merit, quality of work, or another bona fide factor such as education or experience.
Employee Time Off (SB 579)
The use of paid time off and unpaid time off by an employee to care for family needs is expanded by SB 579.
The ability of employees to take time off for the medical care of family members is more clearly articulated by this law, and up to 50 percent of the employee’s paid time off or sick leave may now be used not only to take time off for the care of a parent, child, spouse or domestic partner of the employee, but also for the parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling of the employee.
Additionally, unpaid time off may now be utilized by parents to enroll children in child care or school.
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