Compliance Corner

In a recent case (Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services Inc.), the California Supreme Court has ruled that the extra pay an employer must pay an employee if the employee works during their meal break constitutes wages for purposes of California’s final pay and itemized wage statement requirements.     This means that employers must report these payments on wage statements and must ensure that these payments are timely paid to employees. The failure to do so can lead to significant penalties.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has revised emergency rules for protecting workers from COVID-19. The emergency rules became effective on May 6, 2022 and will remain in effect through December 31, 2022.

San Francisco, California has announced that its minimum wage will increase.

The City of Milpitas, California has announced that the minimum wage for the city will increase.

The California Treasurer has published an emergency rule that defines key terms and clarifies employer responsibilities under the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program. The emergency rule took effect immediately.

The state of Washington has enacted legislation (Senate Bill 5671), which amends its Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to add new salary transparency requirements. Senate Bill 5671 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

Virginia has enacted legislation (HB 808) that clarifies that fee of up to a maximum of $5.00 may be charged and withheld by the employer from the employee’s wages (in addition to the amount required to be held for child support) pursuant to an income withholding order.  The purpose of the legislation was to clarify that an employer may charge a fee of less than $5.00.

HB 808 becomes effective July 1, 2022.

Utah has enacted a new law that provides immunity for certain types of employers that hire employees with a criminal background. The new law will automatically expire on July 1, 2025.

The South Carolina Department of Revenue (DOR) has announced that effective June 30, 2022,  it will end the temporary relief regarding a business’s establishment of nexus solely because an employee is temporarily working in a different work location due to COVID-19.

On April 15, 2022, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law House Bill 4002 (HB 4002), which establishes the maximum hours an agricultural worker may work before overtime pay is required. Under current law, Oregon employers are not required to pay overtime to agricultural workers.