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Employers Group

From time to time the Employers Group will alert you of meetings, hearings, action items, and other events that impact the shaping of workplace legislation. You will be able to find those announcements on this page. Please check back frequently as the announcements change and often are posted shortly before the intended deadline.

 

California court okays partial day vacation deductions
( April 14, 2008 )

In a suit involving a class action overtime exemption issue, a California court determined that “…nothing in California law precludes an employer from following the established federal policy permitting employers to deduct from exempt employees' vacation leave, when available, on account of partial-day absences from work, see Conley v. PG & E, California Court of Appeal, First District (7/21/05). Read more...

CA Supreme Court determines widespread sexual favoritism creates hostile work environment
(July 22, 2005)

Two former employees at the Valley State Prison for Women, claimed the warden favored numerous female employees with whom he was having sexual relations, and that the conduct amounted to sexual harassment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). See – Miller v. Department of Corrections (2005). Read more...

2nd Revision of Form I-9 Released
(July 15, 2005)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has again updated the Form I-9. According to the USCIS press release, the two recently revised forms [(Rev. 5/31/05)Y, (Rev. 5/31/05)N] are the same in content as the prior edition (Rev. 11/21/91)N. The 2005 versions have simply eliminated outdated references to the Department of Justice and former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Read more...

More Flexible Meal Periods in Latest Proposal on 7/7/05
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DLSE precedent - meal period “penalty” not “wages.”
( June 23, 2005 )
 Donna M. Dell, California Labor Commissioner, recently designated Hartwig v. Orchard Commercial, Inc. a DLSE “precedent decision.” The case determined that the one hour required pay for missed or improperly taken meal periods in California is to be considered a “penalty” and not a “wage.” Penalties can only be assessed retroactively for a one year period, whereas wage violations may be recouped for from three to four years. The Hartwig case proclaimed that the purpose of the one hour penalty pay, was to prevent non-compliance with California Industrial Welfare Commission meal period regulations.

Your Holiday Pay Policy For Exempts May Be Illegal
( June 21, 2005 )
 Did you know that you cannot refuse to pay an exempt employee holiday pay for not working the day before and/or the day after a holiday? An exempt employee who works part of a week is entitled to be paid for the entire week. There are exceptions to this rule. For example, an exempt employee may be docked pay for full day absences for personal business, or for illness when his/her sick leave is exhausted.

Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Proposes Rate Decrease
(Wednesday, March 23, 2005) –
The Workers’ Compensation Executive Flash Report has just reported that the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (the actuarial and statically organization contracted by the Department of Insurance to propose pure premium rate reductions and increases), has suggested a workers' compensation rate decrease of 10.3-10.4 percent for policies renewing July 1st or after. This rate decrease is the first significant decrease since the enactment of SB 899 and is proof that the reforms are doing their job.
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Employers Group's Legal Committee is at Work for You

The Daily Labor Report, in a March 2, 2005 article headlined “Amici in ‘Friends’ Case Present Views Regarding ‘Creative Necessity’ Defense,” reported that Employers Group, along with other employer representatives, filed briefs on February 16, 2005 with the California Supreme Court on behalf of the employer defendants in the sexual harassment case of Lyle v. Warner Bros. Television Prods, regarding the creative necessity defense.
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USCIS To Implement H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004
The following is a press release from USCIS, dated March 8, 2005:
USCIS TO IMPLEMENT H-1B VISA REFORM ACT OF 2004

Washington, DC –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) currently is preparing regulations for the implementation of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Pursuant to an exemption established under this Act, USCIS will be able to process additional petitions for H-1B workers for FY 2005. The available petitions for FY 2005 will be applied to all qualified H-1B nonimmigrant aliens, and will not be limited to those individuals holding a master’s degree or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher learning.
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