Landmark CA Temporary Worker Protection Law

October 31, 2014 by

Fruits warehouseLandmark California temporary worker protection law. This month, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a new bill into law that will finally hold businesses responsible for situations when subcontracted temporary staffing agencies that a business utilizes underpay and/or endangers temporary workers. The law, previously known as Assembly Bill 1897, was created to address at least some of the accountability issues facing the temporary worker industry. In industries such as food processing and warehousing, outsourcing work to low-paying temporary staffing agencies has become extremely profitable practice for two reasons. First, the cost of using temporary workers is less than the costs associated with utilizing full-time employees. For example, under the Affordable Care Act, businesses are not required to provide health insurance policies for temporary workers, though they are required to cover the costs associated with providing health insurance to full-time employees. Second the use of temporary workers has allowed companies to skirt responsibilities regarding the adherence to workplace regulations and laws. Companies have been able to avoid responsibility for workplace regulation violations even if they are the one’s overseeing the work of temporary employees.

Temporary Worker Protection Law Aims to Curb Abuse of Temporary Worker Status

In the past decade, Southern California’s Inland Empire has become the home to a massive retail distribution industry that has been known to exploit low-wage temporary workers in order to produce a wide assortment of retail products at low costs. These temporary workers have spoken out about the unsafe working conditions and rampant wage theft that they have experienced. Worker advocates and labor unions have criticized the businesses who exploit the labor of California’s temporary workers, and the state has finally decided to take notice with the implementation of the new law specifically created to protect temporary workers.

AB 1897 requires “the client employer to share with a labor contractor all civil legal responsibility and civil liabilities when it comes to paying wages to temporary workers. AB 1897 also prohibits client employers who utilize temporary staffing agencies from shifting the legal duties and liabilities associated with workplace safety to the contracted agency. As a result of these regulations, the state of California now has the right to fine businesses when the temporary staffing agencies they have contracted with have violated federal and state workplace laws.

Though it may seem obvious to some that businesses employing temporary staff should be held accountable for violations and bad working conditions that are experienced by temporary workers, the new law has created some discord amongst the business community. In fact, the California Chamber of Commerce has spoken out against AB 1897, stating that the law would “discourage further growth in this state, and will certainly discourage out-of-state companies from [re]locating here.” However, regardless of this dissent, California remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of all California employees regardless of their status as a full-time or temporary employee. In fact, AB 1897 is one of the many labor-friendly laws that has been recently passed in California. Other relevant laws include raising California’s minimum wage to $10 per hour, as well as newly governor-approved bill that will require employers to provide employees with paid sick leave.

If your business needs legal representation in Sonoma County, Mendocino County, or Lake County California contact the attorneys at Beck Law, P.C. We are prepared to help you in any way that we can.

Filed Under: Blog, California Employment Law, California Labor Law Tagged With: , , , ,

Can I Be Reimbursed For Business Calls Made From My Personal Cell Phone?

October 1, 2014 by

making a cell phone callCan I be reimbursed for business calls made from my personal cell phone? According to a recent California court decision – yes. Employers in the state of California may wish to review their reimbursement policies following a decision from a California appeals court.  In its decision, the court held that employers in California must reimburse employees for business calls made on employees’ personal cell phones.

The Recent Court Decision

In the court case, the plaintiff, a customer services manager for a food delivery company, sued his former employer on his behalf and filed a class action on behalf of other employees for the employer’s failure to reimburse them for business calls made on their personal cell phones.

In an earlier decision, the trial court disagreed with the class action because it said that such a case depended on too many individual issues, such as the type of plan or whether an individual paid for his or her cell phone.

The appeals court disagreed, stating:

“We hold that when employees must use their personal cell phones for work-related calls, Labor Code section 2802 requires the employer to reimburse them. Whether the employees have cell phone plans with unlimited minutes or limited minutes, the reimbursement owed is a reasonable percentage of their cell phone bills.”

The appellate court wrote in it decision that it was irrelevant whether an employee had unlimited minutes or actually paid his or her own cell phone bill because, “[t]o show liability under section 2802, an employee need only show that he or she was required to use a personal cell phone to make work-related calls, and he or she was not reimbursed.”

What is Labor Code Section 2802?

California Labor Code section 2802, which requires an employer to indemnify employees for all business-related expenses.

After this court’s decision, it appears that this law applies to employer reimbursement for business calls made by employees on their personal cell phones, even if the cell phone plan has unlimited calling.

How will employers reimburse employees?

Employers may wish to update their cell phone and reimbursement policies in light of the recent court decision.  Employers may choose one of the following options for cell phone reimbursement:

  1. Update policies to make cell phone calls reimbursable expenses.  How the company determines the method of reimbursement may vary, although the process may be cumbersome with many employees on different cell phone plans.  According to the court’s decision, if the actual cost of the call cannot be determined, employers should reimburse employees a “reasonable percentage”.
  2. Employers who regularly require their employees to use a cell phone for work may consider providing employees with cell phones for business.  This will avoid having to calculate the reimbursement amount each month.
  3. Employers who determine that cell phones are not needed by employees may update their policies to provide that personal cell phones should not be used for work purposes.

Are you experiencing trouble at work?

It’s not always clear to employees if their employer is complying with the law.  Sometimes, it takes an experienced employment attorney to advise you on your current employment situation.  The attorneys at Beck Law P.C. have years of experience dealing with all types of employment law issues, including discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour matters, and many other problems that arise in the workplace.

If you have a labor and employment law matter you wish to discuss, please contact Beck Law P.C. at 707-576-7175 to speak to a Santa Rosa labor – employment attorney and make an appointment for a confidential consultation.

Filed Under: Blog, California Employment Law, Employee Rights Tagged With: , , , ,
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