California at Work: New Labor Laws for 2018

Los Angeles partner Mark Terman published an article for California CPA titled “California at Work: New Labor Laws for 2018.” Mark discusses several California laws that became effective on January 1, 2018, and what they mean for private employers.

One of the new laws Mark covers increased the minimum wage to $11 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees. He notes that municipalities continue to create and increase their own minimum wages for companies that have employees working within their jurisdictions, and that employers must pay the higher of the state or local minimum wage.

Mark also discusses new laws that prohibit employers from seeking salary history or relying on salary history as a factor in offering an applicant employment; limits on how employers may respond to federal immigration enforcement action; expand “Ban the Box” ordinances to become statewide law; and expand existing harassment training to include training and education of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.

Mark offers proactive steps to ensure compliance and advises employers to review these new laws and update their personnel policies and practices with the help experienced attorneys or human resources professionals.