It’s a new year, and employees and managers are returning to work in every industry across the country. Workers and supervisors in California, as well as their human resource directors, are returning to a different world since several new laws are now on the books as of Jan. 1, 2018.
Applicants to jobs across the Golden State, in both public and private sectors, are now free from the previous requirement to report any criminal history during the application process. It is now also illegal to request information about an applicant’s salary history before making a conditional offer of employment. Both requirements now apply to all California businesses with 20 or more employees.
The minimum wage across the state has also increased to $10.50 per hour for employers with 25 employees or fewer and $11 per hour for larger businesses. This is part of a plan that will eventually raise the overall minimum wage across the state to $15 per hour.
Employers in the Bay Area and other areas outside the San Francisco region may want to pay close attention to county and municipal labor regulations, which may be raising the minimum wage faster and higher than state law.
A law requiring parents to be allowed up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to bond with newborn children is also expanding. If you think you are being denied rights and privileges based on these or other California labor laws, an attorney may be able to help determine the best way to address the issue.
Source: Mercury News, “Workplace laws in 2018 could impact job seekers, parents and ex-offenders,” Annie Sciacca, Jan. 01, 2018