December 26, 2007

Fresno Chamber Keeps Employers Informed on New Laws for 2008

In 2007, the California Legislature passed a number of laws that will affect the way we do business in California. The Fresno Chamber is urging employers to be aware of these new laws that are now in effect or will take effect in 2008.
 

The following is a list of new laws that have recently gone into effect or will take effect in 2008:

 

AB 650 Employer Required Notification - Earned Income Tax Credit

Effective Jan. 1, 2008, California employers who are required to provide unemployment insurance must notify all employees that they may be eligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) within one week before or after, or at the same time, the employer provides an annual wage summary including but not limited to a Form W-2 or Form 1099.

Employers are encouraged to consult with their payroll service, accountant and/or legal counsel regarding compliance with tax laws.

 

AB 338 Temporary Disability Payments

Effective Jan. 1, 2008, AB 338 changes how temporary disability (TD) is paid to injured workers. Under current law, an injured worker can receive 104 weeks of TD benefits. However, those benefits have to be paid within 104 weeks of the first date that temporary disability is paid.

AB 338 removes the requirement that the TD benefits be collected within two years of the first date that TD is paid. Instead injured workers are eligible for 104 weeks of temporary disability as long as those benefits are paid within five years of the date of injury. Benefits are still capped at 104 weeks, but the injured worker has a longer period of time in which to collect those benefits.

 

AB 392 - Urgency Legislation, Military Spouse Leave

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 392 on October 9, 2007, which requires employers with 25 or more employees to give qualified employees as many as 10 unpaid days off when their spouse is on leave from military deployment.

 

A qualified employee is one who works for more than 20 hours per week whose spouse is a member of the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves who has been deployed during a period of military conflict. The employee must provide the employer with notice within at least two business days of receiving official notice that their spouse will be on leave from deployment that s/he wishes to take leave. The employee must also provide the employer with written documentation certifying the spouse will be on leave from deployment.

 

This is an urgency statute, so it is effective immediately for all employers with 25 or more employees. CalChamber has created an employee request for leave form for its members.

 

SB 929 - Computer Professional Hourly Rate Lowered

The law exempts a computer professional from overtime requirements if the employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative. This bill lowered the hourly minimum compensation from $41 to $36, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The rate for 2009 will be set by Oct. 1, 2008 by the Department of Industrial Relations.

 

SB 812 - Pharmacists and Alternative Workweek

This bill resolved the inconsistency between Wage Orders 4 and 7 regarding alternative workweeks for pharmacists by clarifying that the terms and conditions of creating an alternative workweek are governed by Wage Order 4, including alternative workweeks that may be adopted by employees in the health care industry.

 

AB 14 - Civil Rights Act of 2007

The Unruh Civil Rights Act entitles all people in California to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services in all business establishments regardless of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status or sexual orientation. This bill expands these protections to include a number of groups and individuals previously not specifically listed.

 

SB 783 - Amusement Ride Safety. Effective Jan. 1, 2009

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) regulates the safe installation, repair, maintenance, use, operation and inspection of all amusement rides for the protection of the public. The Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program prohibits the operation of permanent amusement rides without at least $1 million of insurance per occurrence insuring the owner or operator against liability for injury or death and at least $500,000 for injury suffered by persons riding the amusement ride. This bill increases the latter to $1 million per occurrence, effective January 1, 2009. The bill also includes a number of additional notification, training and inspection requirements.

 

AB 102 - Name Change, Domestic Partnership and Marriage License

Requires the state Secretary of State to amend domestic partner registration forms to include an option for either or both parties to change their middle and/or last names. The Secretary of State, when preparing the Certificate of Registered Partnership, must include the name used by each party before registration and any new name(s).

Employer note: A person engaged in a trade or business of any kind or in the provision of a service of any kind is prohibited from refusing to do business with or refusing to provide the service to, or imposing a specified requirement upon the use of the name, as a condition of doing business with or providing the service to, a person who uses a name adopted upon the solemnization of marriage or registration of a domestic partnership.

 

SB 777 - Prohibited Discrimination in Public and Private Education

Current protected classifications are sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, or mental or physical disability. Teachers and school districts are prohibited from giving instruction or sponsoring an activity that reflects adversely on race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin or ancestry.

 

SB 869 - Workers' Comp

Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to systematically identify unlawfully uninsured employers and prioritize targets for the workers' compensation (WC) program in consideration of available resources. This bill requires the report to be posted on the Labor Commissioner's Web site. The funds will come from the WC revolving fund in the state treasury. The bill directs the Director of Employment Development to share information with the Labor Commissioner so she can more readily identify unlawfully insured employers.

 

AB 632 - Health Care and Whistleblower Protection

This bill prohibits a health facility from discriminating or retaliating against any patient, employee, member of the facility's medical staff or any other health care worker of the facility because that person has (1) presented a grievance, complaint or report to an entity or agency responsible for accrediting or evaluating the facility or to any other governmental agency; or (2) has initiated, participated or cooperated in an investigation or administrative proceeding related to the quality of care, services or conditions at the facility.

An employee who has been discriminated against in employment in violation of this law shall be entitled to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the employer, or to any remedy deemed warranted by the court, as well as lost income and legal costs.

 

AB 949 - Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly

Licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, before transferring a resident to another facility or independent living arrangement because of a loss of license or change of use of the facility because of eviction by the Department of Social Services, must take all reasonable steps to transfer safely and minimize possible trauma during relocation.

If seven or more residents are transferred, a plan for closure for the affected residents must be submitted to the department for review and approval/denial. Facilities must also have an admission agreement explaining the facility's responsibility to prepare a relocation evaluation and closure plan, and a statement of the facility's responsibilities and the resident's rights in the event of an eviction. Penalties are $100 per violation per day.

 

If a resident of a licensed residential care facility for the elderly is evicted, the resident is entitled to a refund of, or credit for, paid preadmission fees in excess of $500 (actual amount), depending on when the fees were originally paid to the facility.

 

AB 1302 - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

Extends the Act's duration to July 1, 2010.

 

Contact Amy Huerta, the Chamber's Government Affairs Manager for more information at (559) 495-4818 or ahuerta@fresnochamber.com