gratuities, benefits or other compensation is due to the employee under the law. • Makes clear that the term “employee” includes independent contractors, and “employer” includes the hiring entity of an independent contractor. • Authorizes wages, gratuities, benefits, or other compensation subject to the prosecution to be recoverable as restitution. • Allows the employee or the Labor Commissioner the right to commence civil action seeking remedies as allowed under the Labor Code. SB 338 – Joint and Several Liability of Port Drayage Motor Carrier Customers. The passage of SB 388 expands the usual set of circumstances under which port drayage contractors will be placed on the DLSE’s enforcement list and expands joint liability to customers of that contractor. Carriers— or customers of the carrier—with prior offences and subsequent judgment, ruling, citation, orders, decisions, or awards finding
a violation of a labor or employment law or regulation—even if the appeals period has not yet expired—will find their citation information publicly posted on the DLSE’s webpage. This expanded liability means customers of a listed port drayage carrier will also shoulder liability, including civil legal responsibility and civil liability, owed to the state for port drayage services obtained after the date the carrier appeared on the prior offender list. This could also extend potential responsibility and liability for employment tax assessments issued by the state and civil liability stemming from the carrier’s failure to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations. SB 331 – Settlements and Non- disparagement Agreements Recent legislative changes prohibit an employer from preventing the disclosure of factual information related to actions in the workplace related to a claim(s) (civil or administrative) that include allegations of sexual assault (e.g., sexual harassment, workplace harassment/discrimination based on sex, or retaliation).
SB 331 clarifies these existing prohibitions and expands them to include acts of workplace harassment or discrimination not based on sex. This new legislation makes it unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a non-disparagement agreement or any other document if it would have the purpose or effect of denying the employee the right to disclose information about such conduct. The prohibition also extends to any agreement related to an employee’s separation from employment. AB 1033 – California Family Rights Act AB 1033 expands the California Family Rights Act to include leave to care for a parent-in-law within the existing definition of family care and medical leave. This amendment also modifies the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s existing Small Employer Family Leave
Mediation Pilot program as follows: • Requires the Department of Fair
Employment and Housing (DFEH) to notify an employee who receives an immediate Right-to-Sue notice of the requirement to mediate prior to filing a civil action where either they or the employer have requested mediation. This notice by the DFEH must be in writing. • Requires an employee who has filed an administrative complaint with the DFEH to contact the department and to indicate whether they are requesting mediation before filing a civil action. • Allows an employer to stay any pending civil action or arbitration in favor of mediation if the employer did not receive notification of its right to mediate due to the employee’s failure to contact the DFEH regarding mediation. • Imposes various time restrictions on the DFEH once it makes the decision to pursue legal action on behalf of an employee. Agricultural Awareness in the Legislature ACR 60 – BeeWhere Month Honoring the efforts of the California Association of Pet Control Advisors, the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, and the Commissioners of Riverside, Butte and Shasta counties in forming the BeeWhere program, California’s ACR 60 proclaims the month of April of each year as “BeeWhere Month.” The BeeWhere program is a comprehensive apiary registration and notification program offering beekeepers, pest control advisors, and pesticide applicators
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