California Employment Law

12/29/11 UPDATE

The Labor Commissioner has drafted a template employers should use to comply with AB 469.  You can download the template here.

The California legislature has been busy, and Governor Brown has penned his signature on several new laws impacting businesses and employees in California.  AB 469, the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011, is just one example.  Effective January 1, 2012, employers must provide new hires with the following information:

• The employee’s rate or rates of pay;

• Any applicable overtime rates;

• Meal, lodging or other lawful allowances to be used against minimum wage;

• The regular paydays;

• The employer’s name and/or DBA’s used by the employer;

• The employer’s main office or principal place of business address, and a mailing address, if different;

• The employer’s telephone number;

• The name, address and telephone number of the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier;

• Any other information the labor commissioner deems material and necessary.

With the exception of the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, most of this information is typically included in a standard offer letter (something that I think is always a good idea).  Employers could be required to provide the same notice to existing employees if there is a change to any of the required policies.  The Labor Commissioner is devising a template employers can use, but that is not expected until mid-December at the earliest.

The Wage Theft Prevention Act also increases a number of penalties, allows recovery of liquidated damages for minimum wage violations before the Labor Commissioner, increases several statutes of limitations and the length of time employers must retain wage records.

If you employ any workers in California, contact your employment attorney to see how AB 469 will impact your business.

Original article by Robert E. Nuddleman of Phillip J. Griego & Associates

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