let’s talk...
By: Ken Tiratira, Executive Vice President Employers Group
turning its attention to legislating— introducing and deliberating on the laws and statutes that regulate, monitor and oversee transportation, public safety, food products, government structure, health services, and many other areas of interest. In fact, California has 29 separate sets of laws that impact government, business and each and every individual citizen. This year, lawmakers (120 in total—80 Assembly Members and 40 Senators) have proposed 2,323 bills for consideration.
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Out of this total legislative agenda, Employers Group has currently identified 230 bills that address the budget and legislative proposals to change/modify the state labor code. The significant number of bills is an indicator that employers must continue to be watchful of initiatives that will impact business operations, the cost of doing business in California, and legislative proposals that impact economic recovery. Certainly not all proposed legislation impact business negatively, however, the political calculus with a Democratic Governor and a Democratically controlled Legislature dictates that employers must be proactive and alert.
The following are a sampling of the various legislative proposals that Employers Group will be monitoring:
Minimum Wage: Annual 10 CA Employer March 2011
n California, as the Legislature grapples with a $25 billion budget shortfall, the Legislature is also
Adjustment. This bill would increase the minimum wage on January 1, 2012 to not less than $8.50 per hour and would provide for annual adjustments based on the California Consumer Price Index.
Small Business Tax Credits. Current law provides for a tax credit of up to $3,000 for each full-time employee hired during a designated tax year. The total amount of tax credits is capped at $400,000,000. Legislation has been introduced to reduce the amount of tax credits to $200,000,000. The proposed measure would also authorize a tax credit of 20% of the total workers’ compensation premium paid by a qualified business. The total amount of credits would be capped at $200,000,000. A separate piece of legislation has been introduced that would increase the amount of the tax credit to $5,000 for each full-time employee hired that is either an ex-offender, or a person who has been unemployed for 12 or more consecutive months. A third measure would expand the tax credit for employers of 30 or more employees and provide for a tax credit of either $3,000 or $5,000 for certain qualified employees. A fourth measure would expand the definition of qualified employer to any taxpayer that employed 100 or fewer employees.
Employment: Credit Reports. Legislation has been proposed to prohibit employers, with the exception of certain financial institutions,
from obtaining a consumer credit report for employment purposes.
Office of Economic Development. The Office of Economic Development would be created and administered by a director-level appointment, subject to Senate confirmation, in the Governor’s office. The Office would be responsible for developing and leading economic strategy and marketing the State of California covering business development, private sector investment, and economic growth.
Family and Medical Leave. This bill would expand family and medical leave benefits for employees by eliminating the age and dependency elements in defining a “child”, expand the definition of “parent to include an employee’s parent-in- law, and permit an employee to also take leave to care for a seriously ill grandparent, sibling, grandchild, or domestic partner.
Employment: Compensation. This bill would permit employers to pay an employee’s wages utilizing a payroll debit card and defines the permissible types of financial institutions. The payroll debit card can be used to access funds at ATMs in California and the employee must be entitled to at least one pay card transaction with charge per pay period. The employer must also provide access to generate an electronic itemized statement for the employee in a confidential setting.
Recovery of Wages: Liquidated Damages. This bill would increase
Let’s
Talk...continues on page 25
ADVOCACY
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