With a new year comes with new laws and regulations that businesses must prepare for. Below is a summary of the noteworthy laws taking effect on January 1, 2021. If you have any questions, please reach out to CCM Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby at alyssa@cacitrusmutual.com or (559) 737-8899.
Ag Overtime
In accordance with the timeline established by AB 1066 (Gonzales, 2016), beginning on January 1, 2021
employers with 26 or more employees will be required to pay overtime (1.5x regular rate of pay) after 8 ½ hours per day or 55 hours per workweek.
Beginning on January 1, 2022, employers with 25 or fewer employees will be required to pay overtime rates after 9 ½ hours per day or 55 hours per week.
The full implementation schedule is as follows:
Employers with 26 or more employees:
- From January 1, 2019, for more than 9 ½ hours in a day or 55 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2020, for more than 9 hours in a day or 50 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2021, for more than 8 ½ hours in a day or 45 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2022, for more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, as well as no less than twice the employee’s regular rate for all hours in excess of 12 hours in one day.
Employers with 25 or fewer employees:
- From January 1, 2022, for more than 9 ½ hours in a day or 55 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2023, for more than 9 hours in a day or 50 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2024, for more than 8 ½ hours in a day or 45 hours in a week;
- From January 1, 2025, for more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, as well as no less than twice the employee’s regular rate for all hours in excess of 12 hours in one day.
The Labor Commissioner’s FAQ page regarding Ag Overtime can be found here.
Minimum Wage
In accordance with the timeline established by SB 3 (Leno, 2016), California’s minimum wage will increase by one dollar each year until it reaches $15.00/hour for all employees in 2023. At that point, “the rate will be adjusted annually for inflation based on the national consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W).” Beginning January 1, 2021, the minimum wage rates are as follows:
- For employers with 25 employees or less, minimum wage will go up to $13.00/hr.
- For employers with 26 employees or more, minimum wage will go up to $14.00/hr.
Labor Code section 1182.12 defines “employer” as: “any person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any person [and] includes the state, political subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.” Employees are considered to be “any individual performing any kind of compensable work for the employer who is not a bona fide independent contractor… including salaried executives, part-time workers, minors, and new hires.” The Labor Commissioner’s FAQ page regarding these increases can be found here.
COVID-19 Notification Requirements
AB 685 creates a notice requirement at the workplace if an employee is exposed to COVID-19. “Exposed” is defined as “exposure to a person with any of the following:
(1) “a positive COVID-19 test,
(2) “a COVID-19 diagnosis,
(3) “a COVID-19-related order to quarantine or
(4) “a fatality that was caused by COVID-19.”
The employer must notify exposed employees within one business day of the exposure as well as the employees’ rights to sick leave and other COVID-19 related policies. The bill requires an employer, if the employer or representative of the employer is notified of the number of cases that meet the definition of a COVID-19 outbreak, to report prescribed information to the local public health agency in the jurisdiction of the worksite within 48 hours. The bill also requires an employer that has an outbreak to continue to give notice to the local health department of any subsequent laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the worksite.
A summary of AB 685 and links to the Labor Commissioner’s FAQ page can be found here.
Pertaining to Publicly Held Corporations
AB 979 (Holden, 2020) states that a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive offices are in California shall have at least one director from an underrepresented community on its board no later than 12/31/2021. The bill further establishes that no later than 12/31/2022, those corporations shall comply as follows:
- A corporation with four or less directors must have at least one director from an underrepresented community.
- A corporation with more than four but fewer than nine directors must have a minimum of two directors from underrepresented communities.
- A corporation with nine or more directors must have a minimum of three directors from underrepresented communities.
“Director from an underrepresented community” is defined as “an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”
“Publicly held corporation” is defined as “a corporation with outstanding shares listed on a major United States stock exchange.”
CA Family Rights Act
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer with 50 or more employees to refuse to grant a request by an employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period to bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves, a child, a parent, or spouse.
SB 1383 (Jackson, 2020) amended the CFRA to require any employer with five or more employees to grant a request by an employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period to bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner. This expansion creates an inconsistency with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which also provides employees of employers with 50 or more employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. This means employees of employers with 50 or more employees could take up to 24 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year.
A summary of SB 1383 can be found here.
Articles are property of CCM; please seek permission from CCM for the use of articles.
