Don Dressler Consulting

Minimum Wage
- CA Minimum Wage – CA minimum wage increases on 1/1/08 to $8.00. Additionally, the "salary basis" test requires that, in order for executive, administrative, and professional employees to be exempt from overtime pay, they must earn at least twice minimum wage. With increase in minimum wage, exempt employees must be earning at least $33,280 per year. Exempt employees working on commission must be paid 1.5 times the minimum wage for all working hours, and more than half of their half of their pay must be commissions.
- Federal Minimum Wage – The Federal Minimum wage increases again on 7/24/08 to $6.55 and then finally again on 7/24/09 to $7.25. A new Federal posting was made available for the July 2007.
Employment Posters – Many employers purchase “all-in-one” employment posters for their workplace to comply with the many state and federal posting requirements from various agencies. If you purchased 2007 posters you need to also post the new Federal Minimum Wage posting described above, you do not need to purchase a 2008 all-in-one poster set if you affix the new federal minimum wage posting over the old one, or you can order a 2008 poster set.
NEW I-9 form, effective 12/26/07 – A new Form I-9 has become effective on December 26, 2007 and must be used for all new hires or re-verifications. The use of any previous version of Form I-9 is no longer be valid after 12/26/07 and employers do not need to complete new forms for existing employees for whom an I-9 has been properly completed. The new Form I-9 changes include: 1) the Social Security Number no longer must be used in Section 1 of Form I-9, unless the employer participates in E-Verify and 2) the list of acceptable documents is updated on Section 3 of the form..
Military Spouse Leave (AB 392) – took effect immediately upon signing on October 9, 2007 and applies to employers with 25 or more employees. Eligible employees may be granted up to 10 unpaid days off to spend time with a spouse who is on leave from military deployment.
Payment Stubs to Employees: No More Full Social Security Numbers – (SB 618) Labor Code § 226(a) already requires itemized statements to employees which must include certain information, such as gross wages, hours worked, etc. Previously, among the required information was the employee's social security number. As of January 1, 2008, payment stubs can no longer include the full social security number. Instead, they must include either the last four digits of the social security number or the employee number.
Notice of Eligibility for Earned Income Tax Credit – (AB 650) As of January 1, 2008, employers must notify all employees, within one week of providing the W-2 annual wage summary, that they may be eligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit ("EITC"). The employee must be informed of how to obtain any IRS notices regarding how to obtain the necessary forms to file for the EITC. The notice must be handed to the employee directly, or mailed to the employee's last known address.
Cell Phones While Driving (SB 1613) – Effective July 1, 2008, all CA drivers Must use a hands-free device while driving and using a cell phone, or face fines of up to $50 per violation. Employers should consider implementing a policy outlining the requirement and reiterating that business calls cannot be made/received while driving, and should rather, be made by pulling off the road onto a safe location..
OSHA FORM 300A – Mark your calendars so you don’t forget this completed form must be posted between February 1 and April 30 of each year. This posting requirement is designed to alert workers to hazards that may exist in their workplace.

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You can contact Don Dressler Consulting with any questions on these compliance issues or other employment law matters, without obligation. Just contact: Don Dressler at info@dondressler.com or call 949-533-3742.

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