Are you a part-time employee in San Jose who would love a few more hours, but who has not been able to convince your employer to give you more time on the job? If so, Measure E might just make you smile.

Measure E Voted in

This measure, approved by voters in November, came into effect in March 2017. It requires that employers with 36 or more employees must give current part-time employees more working hours if more work is available. That is in direct contrast with some employers’ previous decisions to simply hire additional part-time workers.

The law impacts all part-time workers, including temporary workers and subcontractors. The limit to the law is that the additional work may not be at overtime or premium rates; nor does the law override collective bargaining agreements.

For franchises and chains owned by the same employer, the number of employees is determined by adding the combined number of employees at each location of the business, including those businesses located outside of San Jose.

Workplace Definitions

Anyone who has completed a minimum of two hours of work is considered an employee and is entitled to minimum wage in California.

An employer is one who exercises control over the schedule, wages, or working conditions of workers, and either pays San Jose business taxes or is legally exempt from those taxes, including insurance companies, banks and nonprofit organizations.

Enforcement Provisions

You must post in your workplace a bulletin in multiple languages outlining the new work hour requirements and provisions. Non-compliance could result in fines and penalties to the employer, or potentially even a civil action.

Exemptions to the Part-Time Law

For employers with 35 or fewer employees, the ordinance does not apply.

An additional exemption is allowed for hardship. An employer may be granted a hardship exemption for as much as 12 months at a time, if said employer can establish that they have attempted to comply with the law but that compliance would be either impractical, futile, or impossible.

Impacts Outside of San Jose

This initiative led to the introduction of the Opportunity to Work Act. This legislation contains language similar to that of the San Jose measure, but would apply to employers with 10 or more employees. The proposed law is quite a bit more restrictive, in that this measure contains language addressing retaliation, and does not provide hardship exemptions. Employers and employees alike are keeping an eye on this legislation to see how it falls out. [Read more…]