Recent Updates in California Labor Law

The news in regards to laws in California continue to confirm the reputation the state has earned as being the most litigious state in the USA. There are various laws which are overly complex bearing down on small business owners, as the tiniest infraction can lead to a lawsuit, and subsequently to a fine which can really wear down those who do not have access to mountains of money. There are actually more and more legal cases brought to court which have something to do with the employer’s violation of the labor rights of an employee, which can be usually found on labor law posters. While we are at it, if you are planning of running a business in California then whatever you do, do not forget to put up these posters and update them as soon as any changes are made, seeing as how failure to do so will result in a fine starting from $15,000. All you need to do is take an occasional overview of government websites in order to make sure that your posters are indeed up to date with the current federal and state labor law posters requirements.

The first recent change made to the California labor law posters is basically the result of case which actually reached the supreme court as to whether or not a payroll company should be held responsible for wage and hours policy violations. The California Supreme Court has ruled that these companies are not actually liable to be described as a legal employer because they do not hold control over the wage, but simply are there to process it and calculate the taxes which are to be deducted; as such, they do not manage the employee’s wages and cannot be sued for the afore-mentioned violations.

The second change is in regards to compensation agreements following a case where it was determined that a company may only get away from its duty to compensate their worker if the policy is of unlimited duration, if the employer has made the change within a reasonable amount of time and provided a notice, and finally if the employer did not interfere with the employee’s vested benefits. What basically came out from this is that employers working in California must ensure that the compensation agreements have been properly put into words by an employment attorney, and if they are to change something in the agreement, they better get the approval of a legal counsel first.