Minimum wage increases on New Year’s Day

This is our second in a series of articles about new employment laws for 2018. This week we are looking at wage and hour issues.

A few new California laws affect employers' wage-and-hour laws obligations in 2018, some of which are related to enforcement.

Keep in mind that on January 1, 2018, the state minimum wage increases to $10.50 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees and to $11 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees. This is not a new law — SB 3 was signed in 2016, and this is the next mandatory increase. If you have employees in cities and counties that may have adopted local minimum wages ordinances, be sure you comply with those as well. (Example: Malibu has a local minimum wage ordinance.)

Labor Law Enforcement, Retaliation

SB 306 expands the Labor Commissioner’s authority to enforce wage and hour laws. The Labor Commissioner can:

• Investigate an employer — even without a complaint from an employee — when the Labor Commissioner suspects retaliation or discrimination against a worker during a wage claim or other investigation.
• Obtain a court order prohibiting an employer from firing or disciplining an employee even before completing its investigation or determining retaliation has occurred. The court order can be obtained upon a showing of “reasonable cause,” which is a much lower burden of proof than is currently required. An employer may still discipline or fire an employee for conduct unrelated to the retaliation claim.
• Penalize an employer up to $100 per day (maximum of $20,000) for:
  • Willful refusal to comply with an order to reinstate or otherwise restore an employee or former employee; or
  • Refusal to comply with an order to post a notice to employees or stop the alleged conduct.

The bill also creates a new citation process for alleged violations.

Increased Liability for Construction Contractors

For certain private construction contracts entered into after January 1, 2018, AB 1701 imposes liability onto the general contractor for any unpaid wages, benefits or contributions that a subcontractor owes to a laborer who performed work under the contract. The bill authorizes the general contractor to request payroll records from subcontractors to confirm that wages and other benefits or contributions are being made.

Barbering and Cosmetology

Two new laws affect barbering and cosmetology employers and licensees.

SB 490 clarifies that workers licensed under the Barbering and Cosmetology Act (BCA) can agree to a percentage or flat-sum commission in addition to a base hourly rate if certain conditions are met:

• The employee is licensed under the BCA and is providing services for which a license is required;
• The employee is paid a regular base hourly rate of at least two times the state minimum wage for all hours worked in addition to commissions paid;
• The commission wages are paid at least twice each calendar month on a day designated in advance by the employer as the regular payday; and
• Rest and recovery periods are paid at no less than the regular base hourly rate.

AB 326 requires additional licensee training.

Existing law requires Board of Barbering and Cosmetology schools to include information on basic labor laws as part of the health and safety curriculum for licensees. AB 326 requires that, beginning July 1, 2019, the course includes information on physical and sexual assault awareness to ensure licensees are aware of abuse their clients may be experiencing (such as domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault and elder abuse).

As always, employers with questions about new and existing employment laws should seek the advice of legal counsel. The Oxnard Chamber strives to keep its members informed about new laws that could affect their business operations.

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