New and Updated California Labor Laws for 2017

Sacramento, CASeveral new or enhanced California labor laws relating to employment start this month, which should be of particular benefit to domestic workers and anyone making minimum wage. Here are a few key changes…

Domestic Workers
The CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, or SB241 was passed in 2013. It granted domestic workers overtime protection who were previously excluded, including personal attendants. It came with a “sunset clause” that dictated the overtime protection would expire on January 1, 2017, but SB 1015 repeals the sunset clause. “SB 1015 will make sure that domestic workers in California continue to receive a fair wage with overtime for their daily hard work," said Sen. Connie Levya (D-Chino Hills), the author of the bill, and reported by the Los Angeles Times On her website, Levya said on her website that “SB 1015 validates the important work of the over 300,000 domestic workers that serve as housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers in private homes in California.”   The bill gives personal attendants overtime pay for "any hours worked over nine (9) hours per day or over 45 hours per week".

Minimum Wage Increases
Bill SB3 will increase the California minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next five years beginning January 1, 2017. Businesses with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour. Businesses with 25 or less employees aren’t required to make this increase until 2018.

Opponents of the above bills haven’t taken into consideration the simple fact that higher wages and overtime pay is good for the economy—people will have more money to spend.

Discrimination and Immigration Status
From California’s Legislation report in October 2016, the Society for Human Resource Management stated the following key employment laws:

SB 1001 adds Section 1019.1, to the California Labor Code. It protects individuals from discrimination based on lawful immigration status and it is illegal for an employer to “request more or different documents than are required under federal law, to refuse to honor documents tendered that on their face reasonably appear to be genuine, to refuse to honor documents or work authorization based upon the specific status or term of status that accompanies the authorization to work, or to reinvestigate or reverify an incumbent employee's authorization to work."


And a change to the California Fair Pay Act, SB 1063, prohibits gender pay disparities based on race or ethnicity.

These changes to the California labor code may spell more labor law and overtime complaints in 2017…