New California Employer Workplace Poster and Pamphlet

Effective October 8, 2010, two new regulations impacting California employers go into effect:

1. All employers must post the new Notice to Employees, Injuries Caused by Work

2. Each new employee who begins work must be provided with the new Worker's Compensation Pamphlet, available here.

For more on employer workplace posters or to retain an employment attorney to advise and counsel you on California or Nevada business law issues, please click here.

Layoffs Can Lead to Unlawful Termination Claims

Down Economy: Layoffs Can Lead to Unlawful Termination Claims
What Businesses Need to Know to Protect Against These Lawsuits

By Jessica Hawthorne, Special to California Business Law Blog

By any measure, it’s a pretty rough economy out there and inevitably, there have been and will continue to be layoffs – a process that’s an emotional and complicated procedure, and no less so than during tough economic times.

So what do employers need to know to protect themselves from wrongful termination lawsuits before they are forced to lay off members of their workforce?

The truth is that no one procedure guarantees businesses freedom from exposure to wrongful discharge liability or, even in the absence of liability, prevention of the filing of a wrongful termination action by an employee. But there are a number of things that can be done to mitigate potential issues:

• Businesses should have all new employees sign agreements at the very beginning of employment that protects their status as an at-will employee.
• Standardize termination procedures in a way that maximizes company protection from wrongful termination suits, and ensures that the procedures are consistently applied.
• Train supervisors thoroughly in the area of protecting the at-will nature of employment and to follow all company policies especially related to terminations and layoffs.
• If your company is considering a layoff, be sure to establish objective, nondiscriminatory criteria for selecting the employees to layoff.
• If termination of an employee becomes necessary: do not make the employee's situation so miserable that he or she resigns just to get away.

If an employee feels singled out during a layoff or was unaware of performance issues before being terminated, they may also file a suit for wrongful discharge in violation of an express state or federal government public policy.

Further, be careful and consult with legal counsel before laying off employees with actual or perceived disabilities, those who have just returned from a protective leave of absence, and even those who have reported inappropriate activity such as harassment or safety violations. These employees may have or believe they have more rights than other employees. And angry employees or ones who feel wronged are more likely to sue.

In addition, the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and comparable state law require businesses to provide written notice to employees before laying off a significant portion of their workforce.

Unfortunately, there are literally layers of laws that deal with layoffs and terminations, which can make navigating this area of employment law a potential minefield. But if employers act in good faith, make their policies clear and offer ample notification of pending action, the likelihood of a wrongful termination lawsuit succeeding is minimal.

Jessica Hawthorne is an employment attorney the California Chamber of Commerce. More information on terminating employment and many other workplace issues can be found at www.HRCalifornia.com.

Federal Minimum Wage Increase

The federal minimum wage increases from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour, effective today, July 24, 2008. The minimum wage will increase to $7.25 next year.

Note that the California minimum wage applicable to California employers and employees is already higher than the current or future federal increases.

Minimum Wage Increase

The Los Angeles Times reports today:

House OKs rise in minimum wage

82 REPUBLICANS JOIN DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY

By Richard Simon / Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON - The House Democratic majority, exercising its new political clout, Wednesday approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage in a decade -- from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years.

The measure heads to the Senate, where it is likely to be coupled with tax breaks for small businesses to win Republican votes in the narrowly divided chamber and to secure President Bush's signature.

The minimum wage has been unchanged since 1997, the longest period without a raise since the first minimum wage was enacted in 1938.

California employers are also reminded that the state's minimum wage has risen to $7.50 per hour, effective January 1, 2007, and will rise again to $8.00 per hour on January 1, 2008.  California is amongst 29 states with a minimum hourly wage rate higher than the federal rate.  Certain localities have an even higher minimum wage, such as San Francisco ($9.14 [PDF]).

Updated 2007 mandatory California workplace postings can be found here.

Update 1/25/07: As noted in a blog concerning California employee rights, the recent minimum wage increase may also affect the eligibility of certain employees to be paid on an exempt basis:

"An employee MUST receive twice the minimum wage to be exempt from overtime pay. Commissioned salespeople MUST receive 1.5 times minimum wage to be exempt. If this criteria is not met, these employees are automatically entitled to overtime pay.

Under prior law, employees had to receive $28,080 per year to be exempt (twice the minimum wage ($13.50) X 40 hours X 52 weeks), but now that number has risen to $31,200."