Three New Laws: Minimum Wage, Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Expansion of Paid Family Leave
Last week, California’s Governor signed into law legislation (1) increasing the state minimum wage, (2) providing overtime compensation for many household employees, and (3) expanding the scope of California’s paid family leave insurance program. With respect to minimum wage (which is currently $8/hour in California), AB 10 increases the minimum wage to $9/hour effective July 1, 2014, and further increases it to $10/hour effective January 1, 2016. Currently, the only state with a higher minimum wage than California’s upcoming $9/hour is Washington, where the minimum wage is $9.19/hour.
The Governor also signed into law AB 241, which adds section 1450 to the California Labor Code and is known as the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. Under this new law, individuals who work in many household occupations are now required to be paid overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 9 hours per day or 45 hours per week. The law excludes “casual babysitters” whose work is intermittent or irregular as well as babysitters who are under age 18, and further excludes individuals who work in residential care facilities. The law would apply to nannies, housekeepers, and individuals who provide care for the elderly and/or disabled within a private household. This new law takes effect January 1, 2014.
Finally, the Governor signed into law SB 770, which expands the scope of California’s family temporary disability insurance program. Under the current program, employees who take time off to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent or domestic partner, or for baby bonding, are entitled to partial wage replacement benefits through this state insurance program administered by the EDD. Under the new law, these benefits are expanded to also be provided to employees who take time off to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling or parent-in-law. This new law takes effect July 1, 2014. To be clear, this new law is not a leave statute and does not require California employers to provide leaves of absence to employees for any of these circumstances, much less to provide employees pay for such leaves. An employer’s leave obligations are governed by the employer’s policies and the employer’s coverage under other applicable laws such as the FMLA and CFRA.
As we near the end of the year, I will keep you updated as to any additional laws that the Governor and his Legislative buddies are passing.
