What’s New for January 2023

Posted by Jan 5, 2023

Pay Transparency/Pay Data Disclosure and Job Listing Information SB 1162 Labor Code section 432.3

Here are some of the most important updates:

  1. This applies to all California employers with 15 or more employees AND Employers NATIONWIDE with ONE or more employees in California. It requires applicable employers to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting.
    1. The pay scale is “the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for a position”. This means you do not need to disclose your full pay scale, just the range you “reasonably expect to pay for the position.”
    2. “Tangible benefits provided in addition to a salary or hourly wage are not required to be posted.”  
    3. “If an employer with 15 or more employees engages a third party to announce, post, publish or otherwise make known a job posting it must provide the pay scale to the third party and the third party must include it within the job posting.”
    4. “the pay scale must be included within the job posting if the position may be filled in California, either in-person or remotely.”
    5. “pay scale shall be included within the posting.” This means no links to the pay scale, no QR codes, etc.
    6. If an employee wants to see the pay scale for their position you are required to share it with them.
  2. California Mandatory Bereavement Leave – effective 1/1/2023 California employers with 5 or more employees are required to provide their employees with 5 days of protected Bereavement Leave upon the death of a family member
  3. Designated Person – effective 1/1/2023, adds ‘designated person’ to the list of those an employee can take Paid Sick Leave or CFRA for.

Please contact me for more details on any of these new labor laws, as well as other laws that apply to your organization.

Equal Pay Laws Affect All California Employers – Are You Compliant?

Posted by Jan 28, 2019

California Fair Pay Act – Labor Code 1197.5

Prohibits employers from paying anyone less for “substantially similar” work based on a person’s race, ethnicity or gender.

Disparity in pay cannot be based solely on prior pay

There are a few ways to justify wage differentials: seniority, merit*, production, bona fide factor*

Labor Code §432.3 & AB 2282

  • Employers may not seek salary history on a candidate – either orally or in writing
  • Salary history may not be considered in deciding to extend an offer, or not.
  • Salary history may not be considered to justify pay differential
  • Employer is required to provide a salary range to an applicant, upon request, once they have completed an initial interview with the employer. This is considered a “reasonable request”.
  • Employers can ask an applicant about their salary expectations for the position, not their salary history. Use caution when inquiring about salary expectations.

*JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

  1. What tool can employers use to ensure that employees know what is expected of them?
  1. What tool can employers use to document employee’s skills and growth in their position?
  1. What tool can employers use to different level of job expertise?

The answer to #1 is a Job Description

The answer to #2 is a Job Description based Performance Evaluation

The answer to #3 is a Job Description based Performance Evaluation

If you do not do performance evaluations or if you use the same evaluation for everyone or any performance evaluation that is not specific to the employee’s job, are you really evaluating the employee’s skills, abilities and performance?

Does your performance evaluation show you and the employee:

  1. Areas that the employee excels in?
  2. Areas that they need more training in?
  3. How the employee’s skills compares to others in the same position?
  4. How the employee views their performance compared to how the supervisor views their performance?
  5. Is it dynamic – changes as the job changes?
  6. Can it be used as a “bona fide factor” in justifying wage differential with others in substantially similar positions?
  7. Can it be used as a justification for wage differential based on merit?
  8. Does it include goals that ensures that the employee has clearly defined priorities for growth for the next year?

I have developed a model for a job description based performance evaluation.  Each evaluation is based on the individual’s job description and is a tool to assist managers:

  1. In determining where more training is needed
  2. In determining where the employee excels
  3. In determining how the employee views their performance
  4. In ensuring that the job description based evaluation changes from year to year as the organization changes
  5. In ensuring they have a tool that can be used as a ‘bona fide factor’ in justifying wage differentials
  6. In justifying merit for a wage increase and/or differential
  7. In tracking and developing new individualized and job based goals annually

Contact me for more details – betty@bbaker.biz

A-B-Cs of Independent Contractors

Posted by Nov 11, 2018

A – The principal test of an Independent Contractor is: that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact.

B – The “Independent Contractor” performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business

C – The “Independent contractor” is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed.

NOTE: Court of Appeals expanded ‘C’ to “requires more than mere capability to engage in an independent business.”  ‘C’ makes it critical for the hiring entity to analyze whether the “Independent Contractor” they are working with has an established business and independently engages in work with other businesses.