California Labor Law—What’s New for 2011

January 11th, 2011. By janem

Here are a few California labor law perks for 2011. The U.S. Department of Labor decrees that employers grant time off for women to express breast milk.  The DOL’s fact sheet is posted here. Male workers are wondering if there is any legislative effort in the works to regarding equal rights in this area…they could always donate an organ and take time off.

SB 1304 provides new leave of absence rights to organ and bone marrow donors. Organ donors may take up to 30 days leave for that purpose and bone marrow donors may take up to five days leave for that purpose. The leaves are with full pay and benefits, except that the employer may require the organ donor to use up to two weeks accrued vacation/sick time and the bone marrow donor to use up to five days vacation/sick time unless doing so would violate a collective bargaining agreement.

Donors are entitled to the same or equivalent jobs when returning from leave. Further, these leave rights are independent of any rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act.

If you can’t stand the heat, as of Nov 4, 2010 the California Labor Commissioner issued new heat illness regulations, enforceable by CAL-OSHA, that apply to all outdoor places of employment, especially where the temperature exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Employees must be provided with shade sufficient to accommodate 25 percent of the workforce at one time, cool down periods of no less than five minutes in the shade upon request, as well as one quart of potable drinking water per hour worked.

“High heat” procedures (where the temperature reaches at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit) apply only to agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transportation or delivery of agricultural products, construction materials or other heavy materials except for employment that consists of operating an air-conditioned vehicle and does not include loading or unloading. The new regs are posted here.

Unemployed rail workers are hopeful that California’s high-speed rail project will get the go-ahead; if so it will create thousands of jobs. The “Good Jobs Express Tour” ended, after three days and 400 miles, in Sacramento, where construction trades members rallied with the iron workers to make the case for high-speed rail and candidates, like Jerry Brown, who support it.

When Is Lunch Time?  AB 569 amends California Labor Code Sec. 512 to exempt construction workers, commercial drivers, certain security officers and employees of electrical and gas corporations or local publicly owned electric utilities from California’s meal period requirements if those employees are covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement containing specified terms—including meal period—overtime and arbitration provisions.

Have you been misclassified as an independent contractor?

California, among a number of other states, has arranged information-sharing with the IRS in the area of contractor classification. The goal is that incorrect contractor classification will probably be detected and challenged with more frequency. Among the concerns for an employer who engages independent contractors is that the classification, if valid, can avoid a lot of employment and tax regulation. But at the same time, contractor classification can be a hot tamale for litigation by multiple government agencies and workers.

By now everyone knows that you can’t light that joint at work. California Proposition 19 was rejected, which means that employers may lawfully ban all marijuana use, and being under the influence of marijuana, at work. However, California law permits medicinal marijuana use prescribed by a physician.

And one more: Under the FMLA  an employee who assumes the role of caring in loco parentis (in place of the parent) for a child  receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or biological relationship. The U.S. Department of Labor gives this example: an aunt who cares for a young niece and nephew when their single parent has been called to active military duty or a grandfather who assumes responsibility for his sick grandchild when his own child is unable to care for the child. Also, an employee who intends to share parenting responsibilities with his or her same-sex partner will be able to seek FMLA leave to bond with their child.

The above are just a handful of changes in store for 2011. California employers are advised to review and update employee handbooks and personnel practices, and train supervisors, with the advice of experienced employment counsel or human resources professionals, or a labor law attorney.

Tags: California labor law, California law 2011

This was posted on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Employment . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.