Laws starting in 2015 that will affect business

GQUACKENBUSH

November 24, 2014

Whether it is new rules on paid time off, required harassment training, increased liabilities for employers using contract labor or prevailing wage projects, the Journal's annual report on new laws that impact business aims to keep you informed.FederalHR 3590 UpdateACA employer mandate delay

In February 2014, the IRS and Treasury Department announced that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act employer shared responsibility mandate, originally set to take effect in January 2014, but subsequently delayed until January 2015, will now be phased in so that midsize employers (50-99 full-time employees) will not be subject to "Play or Pay" penalties until January 2016. The mandate will continue to take effect in January 2015 for employers with 100 or more full-time equivalent employees.StateAB 1522The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Family Act of 2014

Effective July 1, 2015, this law requires employers to provide paid sick leave to any employee who worked in California for 30 days at an accrual rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers are allowed to limit an employee's use of paid sick leave to 24 hours or one hour for every 30 hours worked.

The law contains provisions for detailed record-keeping and notice requirements, including a new poster requirement. The law also contains penalties for noncompliance.AB 2755Defining nonprofit directors' voting rights

New language signed into law by the Governor in September, becoming effective January 1, 2015, makes it easier to determine the voting rights of those persons who serve "by reason of occupying a specified position within the corporation or outside the corporation." Unless the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws specifically limit the person's right to vote as a member of the governing body, under the new rule the person so designated will be a director for all purposes. The revised provision applies to public benefit, mutual benefit and religious corporations.AB 2536Employees: Emergency rescue personnel

This bill adds new personnel to the list of employees eligible for protected time off for emergency duty. It also requires an employee who is a health care provider, as defined, to notify his/her employer when he/she is designated as emergency rescue personnel and also to notify the employer at the time that the employee learns that he/she is deployed for emergency duty.AB 1443Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

This law adds unpaid interns and volunteers to the list of individuals protected from harassment under FEHA. It prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals in an unpaid internship or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person, and extends religious belief protections and religious accommodation requirements to anyone in an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship or any program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.AB 1660Driver's licenses for undocumented persons

Makes it a violation of FEHA for an employer to discriminate against an individual because he/she holds or presents a driver's license issued to undocumented persons who can submit satisfactory proof of identity and California residency. Such discriminatory actions will constitute national origin discrimination under FEHA. These AB 60 driver's licenses are scheduled to start being issued on January 1, 2015. The bill clarifies that actions taken by the employer, required to comply with

I-9 verification requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), do not violate California law. It is a violation of FEHA for employers to require a person to present a driver's license unless it is required by law, required by the employer, and the employers requirement is otherwise permitted by law.AB 2751Amendment to California law prohibiting retaliation

It expands the definition of unfair immigration-related practice to include threatening to file or filing a false report or complaint with any state or federal agency (current law extends the protection only to reports filed with police). This law also clarifies that an employer can't discriminate against, or retaliate against, an employee who updates his/her personal information "based on a lawful change of name, social security number or federal employment authorization document."AB 1792Prohibition of discrimination against public assistance recipients

It prohibits discrimination and retaliation against employees receiving public assistance; which is defined as meaning the Medi-Cal program. It also requires state agencies to prepare an annual list of the top 500 employers with the most number of employees enrolled in a public assistance program. The reports will be made public and will be prepared starting in January 2016. "Employer" is defined by the law as an individual or organization with more than 100 employees that are beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal program.AB 2053Harassment prevention training

AB 2053 requires employers that are subject to the mandatory sexual harassment prevention training requirement for supervisors to include a component on the prevention of "abusive conduct," beginning January 1, 2015. "Abusive conduct" is specifically defined by the new law. This new law does not mean that an employee can sue for abusive conduct in the workplace unless, of course, the conduct becomes discrimination or harassment against a protected class. The law merely requires training on prevention of abusive conduct.SB 1087Harassment prevention training for farm labor contractors

This law imposes specific sexual harassment prevention training requirements on farm labor contractors, include a yearly training requirement for supervisory employees and training for nonsupervisory employees at the time of hire and every two years thereafter. The required content for the training is not as involved as AB 1825 training.

It also places restrictions on the ability to grant a license to a farm labor contractor who has engaged in sexual harassment, changes the exam requirements and increases licensing fees, bonding requirements and penalties.AB 1897Increase liability for employers that contract for labor

The purpose of this law is to hold companies accountable for wage-and-hour violations when they use staffing agencies or other labor contractors to supply workers.

If a labor contractor fails to pay its workers properly or fails to provide workers' compensation coverage for those employees, the "client employer" can now be held responsible and liable. The law contains specific definitions and exclusions.SB 1360Rest and recovery periods

This law confirms that recovery periods that are taken pursuant to heat illness regulations are paid breaks and count as hours worked.

SB 1360 reiterates what is already in existing law in this area and was passed simply to clear up any confusion employers may have had.AB 1723Waiting time penalties

The Labor Commissioner can cite an employer who pays less than the minimum wage; the citation can include a civil penalty, restitution and liquidated damages. AB 1723 authorizes the Labor Commissioner to also include in this citation process any applicable penalties for an employer's willful failure to timely pay wages to a resigned or discharged employee, also called "waiting time" penalties. The law does not create penalties.AB 2743Theatrical or concert employment: Wages

Another new law, AB 2743, provides a waiting-time penalty if unionized theatrical and concert venue employers violate any agreed upon timeframe for payment of final wages contained in a collective bargaining agreement.AB 2751Protection for complaints under the labor code

Clarifies that the $10,000 penalty against an employer who discriminates or retaliates against an employee who complains of Labor Code violations will be awarded to the employee or employees who "suffered the violation."AB 2074Timeframe for recovery of wages: Liquidated damages

This law states that a lawsuit seeking to recover liquidated damages for minimum wage violations can be filed any time before the expiration of the statute of limitations that applies to the underlying wage claim, which is three years.

Some recent court cases had held that liquidated damages claims had to be filed within one year.AB 2288Child Labor Protection Act of 2014

Provides additional penalties for violations of California laws regarding employment of minors, including a penalty of $25,000 to $50,000 for "Class A" violations involving minors 12 years of age or younger. The statute of limitations for claims that arise from violations of employment laws is toiled (delayed or suspended) until the minor is 18 years of age.SB 477Foreign labor contractors

SB 477 applies to employers that use foreign labor contractors to recruit foreign workers for California assignments. The new law, in part, requires foreign labor contractors to meet registration, licensing and bonding requirements by July 1, 2016. Employers are prohibited from using non-registered foreign labor contractors to supply workers in California. This law also imposes disclosure requirements and other obligations on foreign labor contractors. There are penalties for noncompliance and joint liability for employers who use non-registered foreign labor contractors and potential for civil action.AB 26, AB 1870, AB 1939, AB 2272, AB 2744 and SB 266Six laws on prevailing wages

Of this group, two new laws are notable. AB 1939 allows a contractor to bring an action against "hiring parties" to recover any increased costs (including labor costs, penalties and legal fees) incurred because of a determination that the work performed on the project was a covered public work and is subject to prevailing wage laws.

SB 266 responds to concerns regarding delays in determining whether a project is a public works project for prevailing wage purposes.AB 1650Criminal history information in public contracts

This law requires contractors who bid on state contracts involving on-site construction-related services to certify that they will not ask applicants for on-site construction-related jobs to disclose information concerning criminal history at the time of an initial employment application.AB 1852Services to minors

AB 1852 requires a business that provides specified services to minors to provide a written notice to the parent or guardian of the minor receiving those services. The written notice should address the business's policies relating to employee criminal background checks.AB 1634Penalties for failure to abate safety hazards

Cal/OSHA can require an employer to abate, or fix, serious workplace safety violations and also to issue civil penalties. An employer can appeal the citation. AB 1634 prohibits the state Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board from modifying civil penalties for abatement or credit for abatement unless the employer has fixed the violation.AB 326Email for workplace safety reports

This law allows employers to email their reports of a work-related serious injury, illness or death to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Previously, the Labor Code required an immediate report by telephone or telegraph. The reference to telegraph was removed and replaced with email.SB 1299Hospital workplace violence-prevention plans

SB 1299 requires Cal/OSHA to adopt standards by Jan. 1, 2016, that require specified types of hospitals, including general acute care hospitals or acute psychiatric hospitals, to adopt workplace violence prevention plans as part of the hospitals' injury and illness prevention plans. The intent is to protect health care workers and other facility personnel from aggressive and violent behavior.AB 1143Tax definition of business entity

AB 1143 requires that the regulations issued by the Franchise Tax Board related to the classification of a business entity be consistent with federal regulations as in effect May 1, 2014.AB 1560Income tax credits

AB 1560 authorizes the Director of the Department of Finance to increase the aggregate amount of the economic development tax credits that may be allocated to taxpayers each fiscal year by $25 million per fiscal year through the 2017-2018 fiscal year.AB 2109Parcel-tax details

AB 2109 requires the state controller to include specified information in local-government financial transaction reports relating to the imposition of locally assessed parcel taxes, including the type and rate of a parcel tax and the numbers of parcels subject to or exempt from the parcel tax.AB 2494Frivolous court actions or proceedings

AB 2494 deletes the Dec. 31, 1994, date limitation on a trial court's authorization to award reasonable expenses incurred as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, thus making both of the provisions described above applicable commencing Jan. 1.

AB 2494 includes in the definition of "actions or tactics" the filing and serving of an answer or other responsive pleading, and would exclude from that definition disclosures and discovery requests, responses, objections, and motions.AB 2617Waiver of civic rights

AB 2617 prohibits a person from requiring a waiver of the protections afforded under civil-rights statutes as a condition of entering into a contract for the provision of goods or services. That includes the right to file and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or otherwise notify, the attorney general, public prosecutor, law-enforcement agency, Department of Fair Employment and Housing, court or governmental entity.

AB 2617 applies to contracts entered into, altered, modified, renewed or extended as of Jan. 1.SB 556Identification for health and safety workers

SB 556 prohibits a person, firm, corporation, or association that is a nongovernmental entity and contracts to perform, on or after Jan. 1 public health and safety labor or services for a public agency from displaying on a vehicle or uniform a logo that reasonably could be interpreted as implying that the labor or services are being provided by employees of the public agency, unless the vehicle or uniform conspicuously displays specific disclosures.

SB 556 defines the term "public health and safety labor or services" to mean fire protection services, rescue services, emergency medical services, hazardous material emergency response services, and ambulance services. SB 556 authorizes that these provisions may be enforced by the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.SB 871Property taxes: New construction exclusion for active solar energy systems

SB 871 extends the exclusion from income for a solar system through the 2023-2024 fiscal year and extends the repeal date to Jan. 1.SB 1131Taxes for LLCs

SB 1131 provides that, for purposes of withholding laws, an employee does not include any member of a limited liability company (LLC) that is treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.SB 1335Income- and corporate-tax credits and information

SB 1335 requires any bill introduced on or after Jan. 1 that would authorize a personal income or corporation tax credit to contain specified goals, purposes and objectives that the tax credit will achieve.

Legislation also would need detailed performance indicators, including data-collection requirements, to measure whether the tax credit is meeting goals, purposes and objectives.

Sources: California Chamber of Commerce, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Aprea & Micheli, Inc. and Farella Braun+Martell.