The new year is just around the corner.

Time to grab a handful of confetti…

…and bone up on 21 new laws that may be affecting your California business.

Employment law isn’t exactly a “festive” topic, but staying up-to-date and compliant is essential to making the new year both happy and profitable for your business.

Are you ready for the changes ahead?

In the first of our two-part series, Exact Staff summarizes two laws impacting California employers that should be on your radar. While this review is not intended as legal advice, it will help you better understand the impact the new legislation could have on your organization – as well as the ways our California-based staffing agency can help!

Is your organization located outside of California state lines? Don’t stop reading just yet! While these laws pertain to California businesses, it is important to understand what is going on around you, as one state’s change to employment law today is likely to have an impact on yours tomorrow.

AB 1522 (Employee Leaves)

What you need to know:

The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA) becomes law in July 2015. Still, your business should begin making tough compliance and recordkeeping decisions now. The law defines covered employers broadly, making no exclusions for small employers or nonprofit corporations. Most employees – full time, part time and temporary – are included, too, provided they work in California at least 30 days within a year from the commencement of employment.

A few facts about HWHFA:

• Under the accrual method, an employee accrues paid sick days of 1 hour for every 30 worked. Accrued sick days DO carry over to the following year.
• Under the lump-sum method, employers may provide three days of paid sick leave at the beginning of each year. Sick days DO NOT accrue or carry over from year to year.

How Exact Staff can help:

• Bring in temporary employees to provide coverage for your employees’ sick days.
• Use temporary staffing or payroll services to eliminate benefits expenses.  If a contingent or payrolled employee calls in sick or requests medical leave, the staffing service – his employer of record – is responsible for addressing his compensation.

AB 1443 (Expansion of Harassment Prohibition
to Unpaid Interns and Volunteers)

What you need to know:

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits discrimination against employees and trainees based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, sex and disability. The new law extends protection to the “selection, termination, training, or other treatment” of unpaid interns, as well as individuals in a “limited duration program” that provides unpaid work experience.

Additionally, AB 1443 prohibits harassment of both unpaid interns and volunteers, based on any characteristic protected by the FEHA.

How Exact Staff can help:

If you’re not interested in the legal risks that come with hiring interns, temporary employees provide a great alternative.  They offer all of the advantages of an intern – fresh perspectives on your company’s challenges, extra capacity, and up-to-date skills – but without the risks.

Want to learn more about the ways Exact Staff can help you stay compliant and minimize employment risks in light of 2015 changes? Check back in early December for part two of this article as we discuss additional laws to pay close attention to.

Looking for Additional Resources?

Our staffing experts are ready to help – give us a call today and let our team of experienced recruiters assist you!