The legislature was busy again this past year, and not only amended the rules on sick leave, requiring now 5 paid sick days but also the forms required to provide notice to employees. All employers need to update their forms and provide notice to employees by January 7, 2024. If you missed that deadline – don’t worry. But start now with transition.
California Labor Code section 2810.5 requires employers to provide written notice to employees about specific employment items. For example, the law requires that employers provide notice to employees of their:
- Rate(s) of pay (if more than one – think travel pay, training pay, prevailing wage or other distinctions).
- The basis of wage payment (whether paying by hour, shift, day, week, piece, etc.), including any applicable rates for overtime.
- Regular designated pay day.
- The employer’s intent to claim allowances (meal or lodging allowances) as part of the minimum wage.
- The name of the employer, including any "doing business as" ("dba") names used by the employer.
- The physical address of the employer's main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different.
- The telephone number of the employer.
- The name, address, and telephone number of the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier.
- An explanation of the employee's right to paid sick leave.
This notice must be provided at the time of hire and within 7 days of a change if the change is not listed on the employee’s pay stub for the following pay period. For example, if an employee receives a raise, the employer must provide an updated 2810. 5 form. In certain instances another comparable type of form may be accepted but you should check with counsel before utilizing in lieu of the state forms. All changes should be documented within 7 days. The new form can be downloaded here.
In addition, there were dozens of new laws relating to Employer operations, including:
- Unpaid Leave for Reproductive Loss.
- Off-Duty Use Of Cannabis and Drug Testing.
- Stronger Anti-Retaliation Laws.
- New Requirements To Address Workplace Violence including written policy requirements, training requirements and protocols due by July 1, 2024.
- Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements against out of state employees including a notice deadline to provide notice that prior agreements are void.
- Industry specific changes including a multi-tiered statewide minimum wage schedule for health care worker, minimum wage requirements for certain fast food workers and a requirement for employers to now pay for training and certification for Food Safety Handler Cards.
- There were also federal decisions that banned the use of confidentiality agreements and non-disparagement agreements between a company and non-supervisory employees in most instances as well as challenges to work place codes of conduct.
If you have been thinking your handbook could use a re-fresh but have been too busy, this year is the year to do make it a priority. The breadth of changes in the law are primarily retroactive.
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If you need assistance with a handbook update or updates to your other policies and procedures including a new work place violence policy or the like, please reach out to Department Chair, Christine H. Long, at 408.286.5800 or christine.long@berliner.com. She can connect you with someone on the team to assist with the update.
Berliner Cohen also does in person and live trainings for employees and managers on AB1825 Sexual Harassment Prevention Training as well as industry and law specific trainings for HR Professionals. Please reach out to Danae Myers at danae.myers@berliner.com to get more information about a training that may benefit your company.