labor lawAdivision of labor law center

With all the changes in labor law in the past year, it’s vital that employers update their 2008 California labor law posters.

Employers who fail to display posters face penalties and hefty fines.

There are a number of changes to the 2008 California labor law posters. Every employer is required by law to display these posters in a prominent position, where they can be seen by employees and applicants alike. Popular choices are the break room, near the time clock or in a back hallway.

It is especially important that employers display the updated 2008 California labor law posters, since the state minimum wage is due to increase on January 1, 2008. On that day, the state rate will increase by 50 cents from $7.50 to $8.00 per hour. This increase will put the California rate on a par with the minimum wage in Massachusetts, tied for second-highest in the nation. The minimum wage in Washington will remain the highest in the nation, at $8.07 for 2008.

For 2008, the California labor law posters are:

• Discrimination Notice 
• Minimum Wage 
• Family Rights Act Notice A & B 
• Unemployment Insurance 
• OSHA - Health and Safety Protection 
• Access to Medical and Exposure Records 
• State Disability Insurance 
• Workers’ Compensation 
• Payday Notice 
• Time Off to Voting Notice 
• Emergency Phone Number 
• Whistle Blower Protection Act 
• Smoking Policy 
• EDD UI,SDI,PFL Notice

These posters must be displayed by every employer in the state.

In addition, federal law mandates a number of posters having to do with labor laws on the national level. These include:

• USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 
• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law 
• Federal Minimum Wage 
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act 
• Family and Medical Leave Act 
• OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

The labor laws covered by labor law posters vary widely from state to state within the country. Overtime laws and the minimum wage rates for tipped employees are two areas of labor law that vary widely from one state to another.

Some states have no overtime laws of their own, and are covered by the federal law. Others have passed laws mirroring or extending the federal laws.

Federal law requires workers be paid an overtime rate of 1.5 times their normal hourly wage for any hour over 40. Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Delaware, and Idaho have no overtime laws. Federal law is operable.

Nebraska mirrors the 40-hour federal rule, but extends it to all businesses with 4 or more workers. Others mirroring the 40-hour guide are Massachusetts, Michigan, and Illinois.

Overtime does not kick in until after 46 hours in Kansas, or 48 hours in Minnesota.

In Kentucky, workers get overtime after 40 hours and on the 7^th consecutive workday regardless of the number of hours put in on that day. Colorado employees receive overtime after a 40-hour week or a 12-hour day.

California workers can get overtime for more than 8 hours in a day, 40 hours in a week, or the 7^th day of 7 consecutive days.

The federal rate for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. Kentucky, Nebraska, and Indiana follow that rate. Kansas is only $1.59. Massachusetts is $2.63 and Michigan is $2.65. Wisconsin is at $2.33 and North Carolina at $2.43. Connecticut hotel and restaurant workers get overtime on the 7^th consecutive workday.

Tipped workers get the normal minimum wage in Washington State - $8.07 per hour on January 1. In Hawaii, tipped workers get $7 an hour compared to the normal rate of $7.25. Colorado’s rate for tipped workers is going to $4.02 in 2008.

It’s important that employers order their 2008 California labor law posters soon. Both state and federal law require that the updated posters be displayed.

This is even more critical for California employers, where the state’s minimum wage will increase on January 1, 2008 – making all existing labor law  posters obsolete.

During 2007 many changes occurred to labor laws. As 2007 comes to an end, employers will need to update their labor law posters. California employers are affected by these changes, and need to be aware of them.

Under state law, the officially required 2008 California labor law posters are:

• Discrimination Notice
• Minimum Wage
• Family Rights Act Notice A & B
• Unemployment Insurance
• OSHA - Health and Safety Protection
• Access to Medical and Exposure Records
• State Disability Insurance
• Workers’ Compensation
• Payday Notice
• Time Off to Voting Notice
• Emergency Phone Number
• Whistle Blower Protection Act
• Smoking Policy
• EDD UI,SDI,PFL Notice

In addition, under federal law, Californiaemployers must display these posters:

• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
• Federal Minimum Wage
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act
• OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

Both state and federal law require that every employer prominently display the posters in an area where they can be seen by every employee. Popular locations are a bulletin board, near the time clock or in the break room.

The most common reason for employers to update posters includes statute changes, especially to minimum wage laws. In just the past few months, employers in New Hampshire, Nevada and Maine have updated their labor law posters as the state minimum wages changed. The most recent increase was on October 1, 2007 when the New Hampshire minimum wage increased to $6.50 per hour.

A number of states across the country enacted an increase to their state minimum wage during 2007. Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota and New Hampshire are among them.

Minimum wage wasn’t the only law that changed during 2007. Two states established new no-smoking bans. Illinois’s new law banned smoking in almost every work environment, including casinos, restaurants and bars. In Ohio, a tough new ban on smoking at work was also enacted. Businesses were then required to post new no-smoking signs at all entrances.

Alaska amended its Child Labor Laws regarding the buying and selling of cigarettes. The law already prohibited anyone under the age of 19 from buying cigarettes, but concern arose regarding teens working in gas stations and convenience stores that sell cigarettes. Part of the concern was that these teens when unsupervised might sell cigarettes to friends who were underage. The law was changed, therefore, to also prohibit anyone under the age of 19 from selling cigarettes.

All of the changes that occurred during 2007, and those slated to occur in 2008 will require employers to update their labor law posters. If the posters are not updated, the employer could be fined.

A large number of changes over the year influenced the poster requirements. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 increased the federal minimum wage for the first time in close to a decade. Seventy cents was added to $5.15 to raise the minimum to $5.85 per hour. A number of states that connect their minimum wages to the federal minimum raised their minimum wages on that day, too.

On July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage will go up again time from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. Again, the states that bump their minimum wage when the federal rate rises, will increase their minimum wage rates on that day.

All employers are required to display a California USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) poster with all the current information.  In case you haven’t heard, the Department of Labor has released the final USERRA regulations.  Whether employers have workers that are in the military or not, the poster should be displayed.

Veterans, members of the reserve, National Guard, and other military sects are protected under the act.  Soldiers are allowed to be separated from their civilian jobs for a total of 5 cumulative years and still be reinstated to their job.  In some special cases, they may be allowed to separate for up to seven years.  It is also true that all benefits, pensions, and promotions should also be given to a returning service member.  If other workers are entitled to them, so are they.  Any seniority, and the privileges that it entails, should not change when the soldier returns.  In other words, they should not lose their place in line.

The exception to the rule of reinstatement occurs when someone is no longer qualified for a position.  The law requires, however, that training for the changes in the position be offered to the returning service member to help them qualify.  If that particular position just doesn’t fit their skills set any more, the regulations provide for an alternate position within the company.  So basically, a returning soldier can lose their civilian job if they’re no longer able to fulfill the job duties.

The employment rights of military service member and veterans are all outlined and clarified in USERRA.  The purpose of USERRA is to make sure that these laws are clear and abided by.  If there is a dispute over the reinstatement of a returning soldier, it will be dealt with accordingly.  It is not very often that a returning military member has trouble returning to work, but it does happen, and there is a procedure for that kind of disagreement.

Some of the changes to the labors laws in California involving workplace posters also involve workplace pamphlets. These are the little brochures and booklets that employers must have readily available to their new and existing employees, to explain their basic rights under California labor law.

The new pamphlets in California include the Paid Family Leave pamphlet, which has been updated in California for 2007. There is another pamphlet out there to be passed along to employees in 2007 for the State Disability Insurance program. Again, this will explain to employees their rights after they have been hurt at work and are unable to return to work, either at all or at least not in their former capacity.

You should also plan on having the new version of the Unemployment Insurance pamphlet, which was updated in California for the 2007 year. And the 2007 Workers’ Comp pamphlet in the state of California has been changed in several ways relative to the 2006 Workers’ Comp pamphlet. This new pamphlet, for instance, details the new labor law on workers’ comp that we talked about that allows employees to go to their own physician to get a second opinion on the diagnosis and treatment guidelines established by the doctor in the employer’s provider network.

There is another new pamphlet for 2007 called the “For Your Benefit” pamphlet, which goes into California’s disability and unemployment insurance programs. This must be given to all employees when they are discharged, laid off, or sent on a leave of absence.

Another pamphlet for employees in 2007 is the Sexual Harassment Information Sheet. This pamphlet gives employees the low down on the new sexual harassment rules under California labor laws, and must be given to all employees and independent contractors working for you, no matter if they are in a supervisory position or not.

It may sound funny to employers who don’t own warehouses or construction sites, who aren’t using heavy machinery regularly to move heavy materials and supplies around. Sure, the Mandatory California Forklift Poster doesn’t ring true if your running an office with cubicles and computers. And the Mandatory California Forklift Poster doesn’t affect you if you’re operating a restaurant full of busy wait staff and cooks.

But the Mandatory California Forklift Poster does make sense to employers who do oversee employees at construction or warehouse type settings where forklifts and other heavy machinery is being operating. It is actually state law in California for employers to post the Mandatory California Forklift Poster, and some federal laws put out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also dictate the posting of such notices.

But in particular, the Mandatory California Forklift Poster must go up in these work sites, simply to remind workers of the safe and proper way to operate forklifts and other heavy machinery. Sure, after years perhaps at the “wheel” of a forklift, many operators could run the heavy machinery with their eyes closed. But see, that is exactly where a little reminder doesn’t hurt.

It is for these “know it alls” that proper safety technique and the Mandatory California Forklift Poster might be a refreshing lesson for them. They might even exclaim, “Hey, I’ve been doing that wrong this whole time!” Or they may just shrug and continue to operate their forklift safely, as they have done for years.

Either way, you got their attention with the Mandatory California Forklift Poster and provided a quick safety lesson. And more importantly, by putting up the Mandatory California Forklift Poster at work sites where forklifts and other heavy machinery, you guarantee that the California safety inspectors won’t be writing you a fine anytime soon.