By David N. Young
Constantly changing labor laws in California “make it hard to be in business,” said Los Angles labor lawyer Joshua A. Kuns, who spoke to the Los Alamitos Chamber on Friday.
“I’m not trying to scare you but it’s the reality,” he said, as he went through a number of recent changes in the state’s protections for employees of companies. Kuns, who is the son of Seal Beach Chamber President Karen Kuns, has been ranked as a ‘rising star’ in 2019 by the California superlawyers website, said Chamber Chairwoman Dawnette Palmore.
Kuns went through a detailed list of changes in California law, giving local businesses a run through of the most common mistakes employers make. “If you don’t know what you don’t know until you know…you could hit down the road with it. “I just want to make you aware of the law so you can make the changes.
“If you don’t know the law, you can’t follow it,” he said.
Here is a summary of what Kuns presented to the group:
- Federal, state and local labor laws are vastly different and business owners should make it their business to know them. For instance, while the federal minimum wage is 7.25 per hour, in California, the overall minimum wage is $11 for employees with 25 or fewer employees and $12 per hour for companies with 26 or more employees. Even so, cities such as San Francisco ($15) and Los Angeles (14.25 pending) have passed their own minimums. Beware, said Kuns, that a simple Google search may not tell employers everything they need to know.
- Job Postings – Employers cannot limit job applicants or hires based on protected characteristic such as race, sex, gender, age, ancestry, U.S. citizenship, etc. unless they are required to do so by federal, state or local laws or doctrines. Asking for “young, energetic, fun-loving” applicants only is a no-no.
- On boarding paperwork – Even after employers verbally or electronically explain pay rate, start date and other conditions to new hires, they are still missing important paperwork, Kuns said, as he presented a number of government forms that must be filled out or presented to employees, depending on varied conditions.
- Culture vs. compliance – Even companies with one employee or regularly uses the same contractor can be held to account to “harassment” laws. Even companies that want to “keep your culture fun and relaxed,” without some formal policies and protections for employees could “inadvertently open your business up” to some serious consequences such as claims for discrimination or unequal treatment. Sexual harassment “is a major pain point” in laid back establishments. “Never assume” employees know what behaviors constitute sexual harassment, said Kuns, and to be safe, employees should be distributed handbooks or policies that spell-out proper behavioral policies.
- Employee manuals or handbooks – Even simple guidebooks that spell out your companies provide a “good foundation” that could prevent future problems. “Employee manuals don’t have to be the super corporate antithesis of your growing business,” he said.
- Classifying employees – “Whether an employee should be classified as exempt or nonexempt varies between state and federal law, between roles and positions,” he said. “Misclassifying employees as exempt when they’re not can lead to disastrous results,” he said
- Use of independent contractors – New laws make the hiring of independent contractors more complicated, he said. “With the myriad of new laws, it is possible for a worker to be classified as an independent contractor under one law but as an employee under another. He said the IRS uses a 20-factor test to assess the degree of control the company exercises over work performed by an independent contractor and he urged company owners to look into the issue. “Just by calling worker one thing doesn’t make them so,” he said. Even with a signed agreement in hand, it does not mean they’re not your employee.”
- Hiring of interns – Be careful in hiring interns, said Kuns, because “there is really so such thing as an “unpaid internship” anymore. Interns should have pay, training and/or college credit.
- Paying your employees – Just writing a check to employees does not necessarily constitute a sufficient system for paying workers. State and federal laws require certain information to appear on pay records and you must state how frequently and by what means you plan to pay.
- Growing legal obligations – Kuns said the legal obligations will grow along with companies that are blessed with growth. For instance, companies with 50 or more employees must provide family leave and adhere to laws associated with the Affordable Care Act.
This report is only a summary and does not include all specifics. Companies with any specific questions are urged to speak to their own labor attorney. Kuns said he has practiced labor law for more than a decade and is an attorney with a “mid-sized” firm, McCune & Harber, LLP, with offices in downtown Los Angeles. He can be reached at jkuns@mccuneharber.com.
Courtesy photo
