As we went to press, the current state legislative session was drawing to a close, and a host of important bills that could significantly impact employers were pending. Here’s a rundown on key employment legislation on the docket in Sacramento and a quick overview of new federal laws under consideration.
California Bills
Lawmakers have until the end of summer to pass new legislation. Governor Davis must then approve or veto the bills by September 30, and those that are signed generally take effect January 1, 2001.
- Disability for maternity leave. A.B. 1844 expands basic state disability benefits for expectant mothers to 10 weeks for a normal pregnancy and more in the event of complications.
- Disability discrimination. A.B. 2222 broadens the definitions of mental and physical disabilities.
- Domestic violence. A.B. 2357 allows domestic violence victims to take up to 30 days unpaid leave in a 12-month period.
- Employee computer records. S.B. 1822 outlaws secret monitoring of employee e-mail and personal computer records. Governor Davis vetoed a similar measure last year.
- Employee personnel files. S.B. 1327 requires purging negative material in an employee’s personnel file after two years if it hasn’t been used in a disciplinary action. The right of public employees to inspect their files would also be extended. A similar bill was vetoed last year.
- Harassment investigations. S.B. 1432 provides that in addition to licensed private investigators, individuals with specified human resource credentials may act as outside investigators of harassment complaints.
- Harassment, personal liability. A.B. 1856 extends personal liability for sexual harassment to individual employees, not just supervisors.
- Lie detector tests. S.B. 1854 requires employers to post a new workplace polygraph notice.
- Overtime pay. A.B. 88 exempts certain highly skilled computer industry employees from daily overtime requirements.
- Public employers, arbitration. S.B. 402 provides for binding arbitration of disputes involving firefighters and law enforcement employees.
- Public employers, collective bargaining. S.B. 739 makes changes to local government collective bargaining provisions. S.B. 1960 requires public school employees in a unit with an exclusive representative to join or pay a “fair share” service fee.
- State labor agency. S.B. 150 creates a single agency combining the various state departments dealing with workplace issues.
- Tips, wage-and-hour practices. A.B. 2509 prohibits employers from deducting credit card fees from employee tips and increases penalties for wage-and-hour violations.
- Unemployment benefits. S.B. 546 boosts weekly benefits over four years, at an estimated cost of $3.1 billion.
- Workers’ compensation. S.B. 996 increases benefits, at an estimated cost of $2.7 billion. A similar bill was vetoed last year.
Join us this fall in San Francisco for the California Employment Law Update conference, a 3-day event that will teach you everything you need to know about new laws and regulations, and your compliance obligations, for the year ahead—it’s one-stop shopping at its best.
Action In Congress
These proposals are pending in Washington:
- Benefits, minimum wage, comp time. Measures under consideration would provide temporary employees with the same benefits as regular employees (H.R. 2298 and H.R. 2299); simplify the rules for classifying independent contractors (H.R. 1525); and increase the federal minimum wage to as much as $6.50 per hour (H.R. 627 and H.R. 3846, which was passed by the House).
H.R. 3409 exempts employers from the higher minimum wage if they increase health insurance coverage. S. 1241 allows private sector employees to take compensatory time off. S. 2946 makes it tougher to exclude contingent workers from employee benefit plans, and H.R. 1102 OKs greater retirement plan contributions.
- Employee wage discussions. S. 2966 bars employers from prohibiting co-workers from discussing their pay. (See related story on page 1.)
- Employment discrimination. Several bills prohibit requiring employees to sign agreements to arbitrate bias claims (H.R. 613, H.R. 872 and S. 121).
Others bar employment discrimination against parents (S. 1907) and prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation (H.R. 2355 and S. 1276).
- Family leave. S. 201 and H.R. 91 expand the family leave law to cover worksites with 25 employees, and allow time off for school activities or to take a child or elderly relative to medical appointments.
- Investigations. H.R. 3408 exempts investigations of employment discrimination and sexual harassment from the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s complex notice and disclosure requirements.
Stay Tuned
As bills are enacted, we’ll give you a heads-up, with practical recommendations and step-by-step compliance checklists you can use to revise your policies and procedures before the new laws take effect.