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California Background Checks “Ban the box” (“Fair Chance” hiring) legislation is revised effect effective January 1, 2018.
Existing law prohibits an employer, whether a public agency or private individual or corporation, from asking an applicant for employment to disclose, or use as a factor in determining any condition of employment, information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction, or information concerning a referral or participation in, any pretrial or post-trial diversion program, with certain exceptions. The prohibition on a state or local agency from asking an applicant for employment to disclose information regarding a criminal conviction is repealed. Instead, it will be an unlawful employment practice under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for an employer with five or more employees to include on any application for employment any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant’ s conviction history, to inquire into or consider the conviction history of an applicant until that applicant has received a conditional offer, and, when conducting a conviction history background check, to consider, distribute, or disseminate information related to specified prior arrests, diversions, and convictions. An employer who intends to deny an applicant a position of employment solely or in part because of the applicant’s conviction must make an individualized assessment of whether the applicant’s conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and must consider certain topics when making that assessment. An employer who makes a preliminary decision to deny employment based on that individualized assessment must also provide the applicant written notification of the decision. New law is added to the California Government Code and existing law under the California Labor Code (Section 432.9) is repealed (Ch. 789 (A. 1008), L. 2017). California Employment Verification/Immigration Reminder: Under the California Labor Code, all protections, rights, and remedies available under state law, except as prohibited by federal law, are available to individuals regardless of immigration status who have applied for employment or who are or have been employed. Effective January 1, 2018, for the purpose of enforcing state labor, employment, civil rights, consumer protection, and housing laws, a person’s immigration status is irrelevant to the issue of liability, and no inquiry shall be permitted into the person’s immigration status, except where necessary to comply with federal immigration law (Ch. 160 (A. 1690), L. 2017). Employers must post notice in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to employees of any inspections of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records conducted by an immigration agency within 72 hours of receiving notice of an inspection. In addition, except as otherwise required by federal law, employers are not to provide voluntary consent to an immigration enforcement agent to enter any nonpublic areas of the workplace. Employers are also not to provide voluntary consent to an immigration enforcement agent to access, review, or obtain the employer’s employee records without a subpoena or judicial warrant. Employers are not prohibited from challenging the validity of a subpoena or warrant in a federal district court. This does not serve to limit or restrict an employer’s compliance with a memorandum of understanding governing use of the federal E-Verify system (Ch. 492 (A. 450), L. 2017). California Equal Pay Reminder: The California Equal Pay Act is amended effective January 1, 2018, to extend coverage to public-sector employees. The measure adds a definition of “employer” to include “public and private employers.” The misdemeanor penalty provision for violations would not apply to public employers, however (Ch. 776 (A. 46), L. 2017). New law has been added effective January 1, 2018, that will prohibit all employers, including the legislature and state and local governments, from seeking or relying on salary history information (including compensation and benefits) of a job applicant as a factor in determining whether to offer the applicant employment or what salary to offer the applicant. Also, employers will be required, upon reasonable request, to provide the pay scale for the position being applied for. Applicants would not be prohibited from voluntarily and without prompting disclosing salary history information, and likewise would not prohibit the employer from considering or relying on that voluntarily disclosed information in determining salary. This provision will apply to all employers, including state and local government employers and the legislature, but does not apply to salary history information disclosable to the public pursuant to federal or state law (Ch. 688 (A. 168), L. 2017). California Family and Medical Leave Law The “New Parent Leave Act” has been enacted to increase workplace protections for new parents who work for small businesses. The bill provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity or paternity leave for Californians who work for companies with 20 to 49 employees and protects these new parents from losing their jobs and health care benefits. Current law only provides that those who work for an employer of 50 or more are eligible for job-protected leave. Employers are prohibited from refusing to hire, or from discharging, firing, suspending, expelling, or discriminating against, an individual who exercises his or her right to such parental leave (Ch. 686 (S. 63), L. 2017). California Farm Labor/Sexual Harassment Training Reminder: Law requiring farm labor contractors to provide agricultural employees with training on sexual harassment prevention is amended to require a licensee, as part of the application for license renewal, to provide the labor commissioner with the total number of agricultural employees trained in the calendar year prior to the month of the renewal application. Failure to comply with training requirements will subject a farm labor contractor to citation and civil penalty (Ch. 424 (S. 295), L. 2017). California Military Service Discrimination Reminder: The Military and Veterans Code is amended to expand protections from discrimination based on membership or service “in terms, conditions or privileges of employment” and to provide that members of the State Military Reserve are to be granted military leave and other benefits, including reinstatement after such service, on the same basis as members of the National Guard or other military service members (Ch. 591 (A.1710) and Ch. 91 (A. 1711), L. 2017). California Minimum Wage The minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $11 per hour for employers with 26 employees or more and $10.50 for employers with 25 or fewer employees on January 1, 2018. State law requires that most California workers be paid the minimum wage. Some cities and counties have a local minimum wage that is higher than the state rate. Currently, the state minimum wage is $10.50 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $10 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees (State of California, Department of Industrial Relations, News Release No. 2017-110, December 4, 2017.) California Overtime Reminder: Effective January 1, 2018, the minimum wage rate computer software employees must receive to be exempt from state overtime requirements is adjusted to provide that, to be exempt, employee’s must earn at least $43.58 per hour, $7,565.85 per month, or an annual salary of at least $90,790.07. For licensed physicians and surgeons, the minimum hourly rate of pay exemption is $79.39. An exemption from overtime compensation requirements under Labor Code Section 510 that applies to teachers of private elementary and secondary institutions if certain conditions are met is amended to specify that the standards apply to full-time employees and prescribes a revised earnings standard for exemption from overtime requirements for part-time employees (Ch. 99 (S. 621), L. 2017). California Prevailing Wages Reminder: California law relating to public works requires, among other things, payment of prevailing wages. Private residential projects built on private property are exempt unless the project is built pursuant to an agreement with a state agency, redevelopment agency, or local public housing authority. This law has been amended to also provide that the exemption would not apply to a residential project built pursuant to an agreement with a successor agency to a redevelopment agency (Ch. 610 (A. 199), L. 2017). Also, the definition of “public works” for payment of prevailing wages includes construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds. Effective January 1, 2018, the definition of “public works” is expanded to include tree removal work on such projects (Ch. 616 (A. 1066), L. 2017). California law relating to apprentices and prevailing wages is amended to require an apprenticeship program, to be eligible to receive grant funds from the council, to agree to keep adequate records that document the expenditure of those grant funds and make all records available to the department so that the department is able to verify that grant funds were used solely for training apprentices (Ch. 553 (A. 581), L. 2017, effective January 1, 2018). California Veterans’ Preference Reminder: The state has enacted a law relating to civil service examination exemptions and certain hiring preferences for veterans. The new law authorizes the Department of Human Resources or a designated appointing authority to use a signed document by an applicant’s commanding officer of the military to verify an applicant’s military service (Ch. 237 (S. 410), L. 2017). California Wage Payment Reminder: For private construction project contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2018, a direct contractor making or taking a contract in California for the erection, construction, alteration, or repair of a building, structure, or other work, is to assume, and will be liable for, debt owed to a wage claimant that is incurred by a subcontractor, at any tier, acting under, by or for the direct contractor for the wage claimant’s performance of labor. Liability applies to unpaid wages, fringe benefits and other benefits or contributions, including interest owed, but does not extend to penalties or liquidated damages. A third party owed fringe or other benefit payments or contributions on a wage claimant’s behalf, as well as a joint labor-management cooperation committee, may bring a civil action against a direct contractor to enforce liability (Ch. 804 (A. 1701), L. 2017). Also, new law has been enacted to require commission wages paid to any employee who is licensed under the Barbering and Cosmetology Act to be due and payable at least twice during each calendar month on a day designated in advance by the employer as the regular payday and would authorize the employee and employer to agree to a commission in addition to the base hourly rate. Commission wages are wages paid to an employee who is licensed under that act for providing services for which a license is required when paid as a percentage or a flat sum portion of the sums paid to the employee by the client receiving the service, and for selling goods, provided that the employee is paid a regular base hourly rate of at least two times the state minimum wage rate in addition to commissions paid. The employee may be compensated for rest and recovery periods at a rate of pay not less than the employee’s regular base hourly rate (Ch. 831 (S. 490), L. 2017). Retaliation for filing wage claims is prohibited in California. This law has been amended to provide that the Labor Commissioner, during the course of an investigation under the law, upon finding reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in or is engaging in a violation, may petition the superior court in any county in which the violation in question is alleged to have occurred or in which the person resides or transacts business, for appropriate temporary or preliminary injunctive relief, or both temporary and preliminary injunctive relief (S. 306, L. 2017). California Whistleblower Protections Reminder: The California Whistleblower Protection Act is amended to require that the auditor create an alternative system for submission to an independent investigator of allegations of improper governmental activity engaged or participated in by employees of the office (Ch. 605 (A. 31), L. 2017). In any civil action or administrative proceeding, an employee may petition the superior court for temporary or preliminary injunctive relief. The law has also been amended to provide notice procedures and criteria for the court to evaluate in granting or denying the application for injunction. Injunctive relief granted under these provisions is not stayed pending appeal (Ch. 460 (S. 306), L. 2017). Also, a licensed health facility is prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against a patient, employee, member of the medical staff, or any other health care worker of the health facility because that person has presented a grievance, complaint, or report to the facility, or has initiated, participated, or cooperated in an investigation or administrative proceeding related to the quality of care, services, or conditions at the facility. The maximum fine for willfully violating the law has been increased from not more than $20,000 to not more than $75,000 (Ch. 275 (A. 1102), L. 2017, effective January 1, 2018). California Workers Compensation Employers are required to secure the payment of workers’ compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide all medical services reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the injury. Employers are also required to establish a utilization review process and further requires that specified requests for payment for treatment be submitted to the employer, or its insurer or claims administrator, within 30 days of the date the service was provided. The law also establishes an independent medical review process to resolve disputes over a utilization review decision. Effective January 1, 2018, this provision is amended to require, in the case of emergency treatment services, requests for payment for treatment be submitted to the employer, or its insurer or claims administrator, within 180 days of the date the service was provided (Ch. 240 (S. 489), L. 2017). The California Workers Compensation law is amended to require employers to provide immediate support from a nurse case manager for employees injured by an act of domestic terrorism, when such injuries arise out of and in the course of employment, to assist employees in obtaining necessary medical treatment and to assist providers of medical services in seeking authorization of medical treatment. The Governor must declare a state of emergency in connection with such act of terrorism (Ch. 736 (A. 44, L. 2017). Effective January 1, 2018, an employer may object to any bill submitted by, or on behalf of, a provider who has been suspended for fraud or abuse (Ch. 300 (A. 1422), L. 2017). |
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Nevada Child Labor Reminder: Nevada’s child labor law provides that no child under the age of 16 may be employed at any gainful occupation, other than domestic service, as a performer in the production of a motion picture or work on a farm, more than 48 hours in any one week, or more than eight hours in any one day. The exemption from these work hour restrictions for domestic work will be removed as of January 1, 2018 (Ch. 550 (S. 232), L. 2017). Nevada Garnishment The maximum amount of the aggregate disposable earnings of a person which are subject to garnishment may not exceed: (a) 18% of the person’s disposable earnings for the relevant workweek if the person’s gross weekly salary or wage on the date the most recent writ of garnishment was issued was $770 or less; (b) 25% of the person’s disposable earnings for the relevant workweek if the person’s gross weekly salary or wage on the date the most recent writ of garnishment was issued exceeded $770; or (c) the amount by which the person’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by section 206(a)(1)of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. Sections 201 et seq., in effect at the time the earnings are payable, whichever is less. These restrictions do not apply in the case of: (a) any order of any court for the support of any person; (b) any order of any court of bankruptcy; (c) any debt due for any state or federal tax (Ch. 329 (S. 230), L. 2017, effective October 1, 2017). Nevada Jury Duty and Court Attendance Leaves Reminder: Effective January 1, 2018, employers are required to provide leave to an employee who has been employed with the employer for at least 90 days and who is the victim of domestic violence, or to such an employee whose family or household member is a victim of domestic violence and the employee is not the alleged perpetrator. An employee will be entitled to 160 hours of leave during a 12-month period. Such leave: (1) may be paid or unpaid; (2) must be used within the 12 months immediately following the date on which the act which constitutes domestic violence occurred; (3) may be used consecutively or intermittently; and (4) under certain circumstances, must be deducted from leave permitted by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Ch. 496 (S. 361), L. 2017, effective January 1, 2018). Nevada Minimum Wage Reminder: Effective as of January 1, 2018, employers, under the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights law, are required to provide written notice to employees specifying wages and hours and other conditions of employment. Employers must pay workers at least the minimum wage specified in Section 16 of Article 15 of the Nevada Constitution (Ch. 550 (S. 232), L. 2017). Nevada Overtime Pay Reminder: Effective January 1, 2018, overtime requirements do not apply to a domestic worker who resides in the household where he or she works if the domestic worker and his or her employer agree in writing to exempt the domestic worker from the requirements (Ch. 550 (S. 232), L. 2017). Nevada Posters Reminder: Effective January 1, 2018, Nevada employers are required to post in the workplace a bulletin issued by the Labor Commissioner that sets forth employee rights under the domestic violence leave law (Ch. 496 (S. 361), L. 2017). Summaries, State Employment Law Library ¶29-9900. Nevada Recordkeeping Requirements Reminder: Effective January 1, 2018, employers are required per the Nevada Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights law to keep a record of the wages and hours of domestic workers employed, as required by Section 608.115 (Ch. 550 (S. 232), L. 2017). |
