Aunt Ann’s labor attorney, Lisa Weinberger filled us in on the most recent updates regarding employment law in California. Below you’ll find updated information pertaining to minimum wage and mileage rates, protected and paid time off, and more.
CALIFORNIA FAMILY RIGHTS ACTS EXPANSION
Historically, the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), which is the California state equivalent of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, provided up to 12 weeks of protected time off for eligible employees who work for an employer with 50+ employees. In one of the most significant legislative changes to be passed this year, Senate Bill 1383 expanded the CFRA to cover employees who work for an employer with at least five employees anywhere in the country. This new law also expands the CFRA to cover care for extended family members and the children of domestic partners, as well as for reasons related to military duty. If you meet this five employee threshold, which many of our clients will, you will want to understand your obligations under the CFRA and update any policies and handbooks to ensure compliance with notice requirements.
PROTECTED TIME OFF FOR SURVIVORS OF ABUSE
California law prohibits discrimination or retaliation of employees who take time off from work as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This prohibition now extends to include other crimes or abuses that caused physical injury, or mental injury along with the threat of physical injury.
PAID FAMILY LEAVE FOR MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS
The Paid Family Leave benefits provided by the Employment Development Department will now be extended to California employees who need to take time off from work because of the deployment of their military spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, or child.
MINIMUM WAGE AND SALARY BASIS
The California state minimum wage increased again as of January 1, 2021. Employers with 26+ employees must now pay at least $14.00 per hour, and employers with fewer than 26 employees must pay at least $13.00 per hour. Please note that several cities and counties throughout the state also have minimum wages, which are often higher than that required by California law. When determining which minimum wage applies, the location where services are provided will govern, which matters a great deal in this work-from-home era (so, yes, different employees, who perform the same services but live in different cities, could earn different amounts).
The increase in the state minimum wage also impacts the salary basis threshold for exempt status throughout California. As you know, in order for employees to be classified as exempt employees (i.e., not entitled to overtime compensation), they must perform certain kinds of work and earn a salary that is at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. Based on this standard, every time the California minimum wage increases, this so-called “salary basis” threshold increases, as well. With the new minimum wages, in order for employees to even be considered exempt from overtime, they must now be paid at least $54,080 if the employer has up to 25 employees, and $58,240 if the employer has 26+ employees. Employees who are paid a salary that is less than these figures, as applicable, will be considered non-exempt as a matter of law.
MILEAGE RATE
The IRS has set the reimbursement rate for business-related mileage at $.56/mile for 2021.
EMPLOYMENT ACTION ITEMS FOR THE NEW YEAR
- All employers with 5+ employees should implement a general CFRA leave policy
- All employers should revise Paid Family Leave policies to include the new “military assist” language
- All employers should revise any policies related to victims’ protected time off
- Ensure that CCPA notice obligations are being met (as discussed here)
- Revisit your employee classifications to make sure that your independent contractors are properly characterized, and that all exempt employees are properly classified
- If you have not updated your Employee Handbook recently, this is a good year to do it!