Posted on January 30th, 2019
Following California labor laws is a vital part of the long-term success of your business. But it’s not just you as the business owner who needs to understand the laws.
It is important your mangers understand them as well because they are acting on your behalf.
Learn how to train your managers for compliance in this article.
Do you and your managers know a lot about California labor laws?
It’s a scary time to be a business owner in California. One small mistake, and you could put your entire business at risk.
Adding to your stress is that the law is always changing and the law always seems to favor employees.
One recent case found that employees that are on-call are entitled to be paid, even if they didn’t work.
That’s why you need to stay up to date on the changing laws. Read on to find out the top labor laws in California that your managers must know.
California Labor Laws for 2019
January 1, 2019 ushered in a new slate of California labor laws that you and your managers need to be aware of.
The big one that impact all businesses is the rise in minimum wage. For businesses that have 25 employees or less, the minimum wage is now $11.00 per hour. For those with 26 or more employees, that jumps to $12.00 per hour.
Another controversial law that came on the books from 2019 is that publicly-held corporations must have one female on their board of directors by December 31, 2019.
Other laws are industry-specific, applying to hotel, construction, and in-home support.
The California Labor Laws Your Managers Must Know
You can see that with every legislative session in Sacramento comes a whole host of labor law changes. Some will impact how you run your day to day operations and others will only impact your managers.
At-Will Employment California
This is the question revolving around how managers can fire employees. California is an “at-will” state, meaning that employees are employed at the will of their employers. Employers can terminate employees at any time, without cause or advanced notice.
That doesn’t mean that every termination is lawful. Employers can’t fire employees if they were exercising their legal rights if the termination violates a contract, or under discriminatory reasons.
#MeToo and California Labor Laws
Sexual harassment of any kind has become a hot topic of conversation. That’s especially true in the workplace.
Your company has to have a written policy regarding sexual harassment.
This policy includes the complaint process, who complaints can be reported to, and that a confidential investigation will be conducted.
The employer has a duty to investigate sexual harassment claims. If a manager receives a complaint of sexual harassment from an employee, they are obligated to take the issue to HR or higher up the corporate ladder to the proper executive.
That claim must be investigated thoroughly and the appropriate action needs to be taken.
One new law that managers have to be aware of is that companies with at least five employees have to provide training and education to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace by January 1, 2020.
The training is for supervisory employees, meaning your managers.
That law may seem familiar to you because it’s been on the books since 2005.
The difference is that up until now, the law has applied to organizations with 50 or more employees. Now, that number is just five impacting thousands of more business.
Timekeeping Policies
Your company has to have adequate timekeeping policies to stay within compliance of overtime laws.
People who are highly paid, administrative, professional and executive employees may be exempt from overtime pay.
Hourly employees have the right to be paid for the hours they worked. They’re also entitled to overtime at 1.5 times their hourly rate for more than 40 hours.
Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks
This is one law you managers need to stay on top of. It’s very easy to overlook during the course of a busy day.
Meal breaks have to be tracked under California Law. Employees have to clock in and clock out. Your managers need to make sure this happens.
Employees are entitled to a 30-minute break if they work more than five hours. If the employee must stay on the premises during their meal break, you need to pay for that time.
Employees are also entitled to a rest break, depending on the hours they work.
Responding to Records Requests
Employees are entitled to see personnel or records of time worked. As a manager, this is probably the lowest priority on the manager’s to-do list, but you can’t afford to overlook it.
This is actually considered to be a legal request, and it needs to be treated as such. What managers need to do is to make this a priority. They need to provide the information themselves or forward the request to human resources to provide the records.
How to Train Your Managers
The more you and your managers know about California labor laws, the more you can avoid potential labor scenarios that put your business in danger.
The best way to train your managers is to have an understanding of the laws yourself. You can enlist the help of an established employment law attorney who can guide you and provide the expertise that you need.
There are a few ways to train your managers around these workplace issues. If you have an HR department, then you can leave it to your HR staff to train them.
Your next step is to pull your managers aside to train them. You’ll want to balance training with having adequate coverage. Training your managers isn’t something to put off because the consequences are too great.
Go through each point of the laws that they need to know. Make sure that they understand it and allow them to follow up with questions.
You might even make employment law training a regular thing, whether that’s twice a year or quarterly.
Have Confidence Around California Labor Laws
The more you and your managers know about the changing laws, the more you can protect your business in any eventuality.
California labor laws are complex, but it is possible to navigate the changing world of labor laws. If you’re a business owner and want help with working within labor laws, schedule a free 15-minute strategy session today.
