California Legislature to consider following Employment Law Bills

The following bills have been introduced in the California legislature, and if passed will affect the rights of employees and employers throughout California.

AB 10: If passed, the minimum wage will increase to $8.25/hour beginning in 2014, $8.75/hour beginning in 2015, and $9.25/hour beginning in 2016.

AB 25: If passed, employers will be prohibited from requiring or requesting that employees or prospective employees disclose a user name or password to access personal social media accounts.

AB 228: If passed, this bill will create a safety valve for employers who have failed to timely pay all wages owed at time of termination to employee. In effect, the labor commissioner will be authorized to waive the waiting time penalties for a delayed payment claim if said claim is the first of its kind made against the employer and is resolved within 30 days.

SB 607: Under current California law non-unionized employees must be paid overtime for work in excess of eight hours in a given workday. SB 607 would extend the flexibility accorded to unionized employees to non-unionized employees, allowing them to opt for 10-hour workdays, instead. Employers would still be required to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 10 hours a day or 40 hours a week.