Copyright© 2001 by School Services of California, Inc.

Volume 14                   For Publication Date: December 21, 2001             No. 26

New Labor Laws

For private and public sector employers there are several new labor laws that will take effect January 1, 2002. Also, there are several new changes that will have to be made to employee workplace posters that outline employee rights.

The following is a list of the new laws taking effect in January and how they will affect employers and employees:

This will allow a person to collect unemployment insurance if he or she leaves a job to relocate with a domestic partner and will allow domestic partners to use sick leave to care for the other partner or the other partner’s child.

This legislation will limit an employer’s ability to adopt or enforce a policy requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace.

This legislation would require employers to provide a reasonable amount of break time to employees desiring to express milk. The break time would be required to run concurrently, if possible, with any break time already provided. Employers would also be required to provide the use of a room, or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employees’ work area.

This legislation increases maximum weekly Unemployment Insurance benefits; requires the Employment Development Department to conduct a study regarding eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits and an alternative base period; qualifies specified part-time employees for benefits; and, clarifies that penalty amounts given to employees under the federal plan closure law are not considered wages for purposes of benefit reduction.

Adds a new penalty for failure to comply with child support garnishments, and allows court-ordered electronic transfer of garnishments from the employer’s bank account.

In addition to these new laws that go into effect, there will also be changes to employer posters that are required to be posted in the workplace to inform employees of their rights. The most noticeable will be the poster reflecting an increase in the minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $6.75. Other changes include a poster informing employees that they can not be prohibited from using language other than English in the workplace, and changes to the workers’ compensation poster informing employees of the workers’ compensation carrier’s address to send claims to in the event that the employer does not.