2018 Employer Requirements

Many of the laws mentioned below will affect you and significantly increase your liability as an employer. These changes will require that you make significant adjustments to your hiring, training and employee pay policies. To help limit your liability as a business owner, we recommend that you meet with us and have us review your current hiring, training and pay policies and make specific recommendations.

·  CAL/OSHA requires businesses to send them a copy of their 300A Log and Safety Data Sheet (SDS); fines starting at $800.00, effectiveDecember 2017. 

·  FEHA requires all California employers to prevent harassment from occurring in the workplace, regardless of the number of employees. Employer is required to notify employees in a written form, effectiveJanuary 1st 2018 – CA Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 396 - Expansion of Sexual Harassment Training. 

·  Also, effective January 1st, 2018, the “New Parent Leave Act’ – employers with 20 or more employees are required to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected parental leave. 

·  Another example is that AB 1008 goes into effect on January 1, 2018.  Prior to that date, you should carefully review your employment applications and hiring processes to ensure compliance with the law’s requirements – you will need to understand and follow the specific individualized assessment and employee notice requirements contained in the new law. 

·  CAL/OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention standard is found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3342.

o    Employers must implement the following subsections by April 1, 2018:

§  (c) Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

§  (e) Review of the Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

§  (f) Training 

·  New CAL/OSHA GISO regulations (dust control) become fully effective on June 1, 2018.

 Many standards promulgated by the CAL/OSHA explicitly require the employer to train employees in the safety and health aspects of their jobs.

·  New OEHHA (Office of environmental Health Hazard Assessment) regulation Prop. 65 will require manufacturer of foods including farmers, food companies, retailers, and restaurants to notify customers and employees about cancer-causing substances in food in a written form in June 2018. 

·  Minimum hourly pay will increase in the State of California and in Los Angeles in July 2018.  Salaried employees in California and Los Angeles County generally must earn a minimum salary of no less than $43,680 annually.

Note:    This just happened in Santa Monica  (December 2017):

Ø  Business owner in Santa Monica held criminally liable for violating minimum wage order and retaliating against employee who complained. 

The owner was placed on 36 months of probation and is required to pay approximately $11,000 in back wages to employees, plus $3,000 in city investigation costs.  Additionally, the owner must perform 150 hours of community service.

Looking at $11,000 in back wages, this is a small business with just a handful of employees.