In today’s episode, Teresa gives her annual Legal Update for changes happening on January 1, 2024. Out of the 1,046 bills sent to Governor Newsome for signature, 890 were signed and 156 were vetoed. 80 employment-related bills were signed with 26 vetoed. All bills, except those designated as emergency measures or as otherwise noted, take effect January 1, 2024. 

Legal Update Topics Discussed Today:

• Minimum Wage Increases – The minimum wage in California will increase to $16.00 an hour. (Review the UC Berkeley Labor Center’s detailed list of local minimum wage ordinances for additional guidance.)
• AB 2188 Discrimination in Employment: Use of Cannabis (Chapters 2 and 5) – AB 2188 makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize an individual if the discrimination is based on the individual’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace.  
• SB 700 – Employment Discrimination: Cannabis Use (Chapters 2 and 5) – SB 700 expands existing lawful use of cannabis outside the workplace by making it unlawful for an employer to take any adverse employment action (i.e., take any action that would negatively impact the employee’s terms or conditions of employment) against an employee for off-duty cannabis use.
• Fair Chance Act (Ban the Box) Regulation Update (Chapter 2) – The California Office of Administrative Law approved amendments to the California Fair Chance Act regulations, as proposed by the California Civil Rights Council. These changes impact employers with five or more employees and involve inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history before a job offer or in other subsequent employment decisions (e.g., promotion, training, discipline, layoff, and termination) and the criminal history of current employees.  
• SB 497 – Protected Employee Conduct (The Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act) (Chapter 4) – SB 497 amends various sections of the Labor Code by creating a rebuttable presumption in favor of an employee’s claim of retaliation if the employer takes any adverse action against the individual within 90 days of the employee’s having engaged in protected activity. 
• SB 616 – Sick Days: Paid Sick Days Accrual and Use (Chapters 4 and 5) – SB 616 amends the Healthy Workplace, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA) by increasing accrual/frontloading paid sick leave mandates from 24 hours (3 days) to 40 hours (5 days) and increasing cap amounts to 80 hours.  
• SB 848 – Leave for Reproductive Loss (Chapter 5) – SB 848 makes it unlawful for a covered employer to refuse to grant Reproductive Leave (“Leave”) following a miscarriage, failed surrogacy, stillbirth, unsuccessful “assisted reproduction” (i.e., artificial insemination or embryo transfer), or failed adoption.
• SB 553 – Workplace Violence: Restraining Orders and Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (Chapter 7) – This law takes effect July 1, 2024 –
• SB 553 requires covered employers in California to; develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan that meets the law’s specific standards; maintain a violent incident log to record any violent workplace incidents or threats; provide comprehensive training to all employees on workplace violence prevention; and keep records related to the workplace violence prevention plan to ensure compliance. Maintain these records for at least five years and produce them to Cal/OSHA upon request. 
• California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA) (Chapter 5) – The CPRA became effective January 1, 2023. However, regulatory enforcement is stayed until March 29, 2024 – Current employer exemptions in the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) were eliminated in accordance with the CPRA when it became effective January 1, 2023.
• SB 699 – Contracts in Restraint of Trade – Existing law concerning restrictive covenants (e.g., non-competition, non-solicitation agreements) regulates business activities to maintain competition.
• AB 1076 – Notice Requirements for Noncompete Agreements or Agreements Containing Noncompete Provisions – This statute has a February 14, 2024 notification compliance deadline – AB 1076 continues restrictions on noncompete agreements (See SB 699) and codifies California’s position as it relates to noncompetes. 
• SB 525 – Minimum Wages: Health Care Workers (Chapter 4) – This law becomes effective June 1, 2024 – Existing law generally requires a minimum wage for all industries of not less than the currently stated minimum wage. SB 525 establishes five separate minimum wage schedules for covered healthcare employees depending on the nature of the employer.
• AB 102 – Budget Bill: Refunding the Industrial Welfare Commission (Chapter 4) – AB 102 provides a $3,000,000 budget allocation to the state’s previously non-operational Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC).
• COVID-19 Labor Code Notice Requirements – Implemented at the outset of the pandemic, California Labor Code Section 3212.86 established a rebuttable presumption concerning illness or death resulting from COVID-19. The statute was set to expire on January 1, 2023, unless extended. Effective January 1, 2023, AB 1751 reset the expiration date on this rebuttable presumption to January 1, 2024.
• Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (Chapter 1)
• Woodworth v. Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Stericycle Inc., NLRB Ruling Adopting New Legal Standard for Evaluating Employer Work Rules

To listen to Teresa’s last Legal Update click here

Episode Timeline

On today’s episode, Teresa interviews Freek Vermeulen, a professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. October marks the start of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In continuing to honor this year’s theme, “Advancing Access and Equity,” we’re dedicating today’s episode to highlighting the competitive advantages inherent in hiring those with disabilities. Teresa and Freek discuss his research into ‘Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage.’

They discuss the common misconceptions employers may have about inclusion in the workplace for people with disabilities. Freek and Luisa Alemany recently published their study that was in Harvard Business Review, “Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage. Employing people with disabilities can significantly improve an organization.” This concluded that companies realize the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion. But most focus on gender and ethnicity, paying less attention to people with disabilities.

In the United Kingdom, people without disabilities, of employable age are 81% rate of employment, whereas people with disabilities are just 53% employed. People with a disability struggle with employment.

Freek and Luisa interviewed mostly European companies but also included companies in Columbia, some being multi-national.

The study found that when you hire people with disabilities it can lead to a real competitive advantage, here are the many ways:

• Disabilities often confer unique talents that make people better at particular jobs.
• The presence of employees with disabilities elevates the culture of the entire organization, making it more collaborative and boosting productivity.
• A reputation for inclusiveness enhances a firm’s value proposition with customers, who become more willing to build long-term relationships with the company.
• Being recognized as socially responsible gives a firm an edge in the competition for capital and talent.

To connect with Freek click here

To read the article, click here

For information on National Disability Employment Awareness Month, click here

Episode Timestamp

Today Teresa is joined by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. to talk about “The Anxiety Advantage.” Dr. Dennis-Tiwary is a researcher, entrepreneur, and author of the book Future Tense: Why Anxiety is Good for You (Even Though it Feels Bad). She is a professor of psychology and neuroscience and Director of the Emotion Regulation Lab at The City University of New York.

Teresa and Dr. Dennis-Tiwary discuss how everyone has anxiety and it’s not going away, so when we treat it like an ally and change our mindset we can conquer our anxiety and turn it into good. Anxiety can be good for you, even though it feels bad.

Dr. Dennis-Tiwary talks about a study where people who have public speaking anxiety were told they would have to give a speech about a complicated subject. Half the people were told to change their mindset about the speech and the other half were told nothing. In the end, the people who were taught to think about anxiety differently performed better and felt better about their speech.

Dr. Tracy talks about her 3 L’s

• Listen
• Leverage
• Left Go

Using these practicalities can help flip the narrative on anxiety and use it positively.

Connect with Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. here

For more information on her book, click here

The flipside of anxiety is hope

Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D.

Episode Timestamp

In today’s episode, Teresa gives her “Annual Legal Update.”

Topics discussed:

• Minimum Wage Increases
• Overtime for Agricultural Workers
• SB 1162
• AB 152
• AB 2693
• AB 2091
• AB 2188
• HR 4445
• SB 523
• AB 1751
• AB 2068
• AB 1949
• AB 1041
• SB 1044
• AB 2183

Episode Timeline

In today’s episode, Teresa gives her 2022 tips for the “Holiday Survival Guide.” Teresa gives advice on how to survive business get-togethers and represent your organization and build your professional network.

A lot of companies are going back to in-person events and ‘small talk’ is something that people have not had to deal with lately.

Here are the tips Teresa discusses:

• Make an Effort
• Get Curious
• Research
• Introduce Yourself
• I Can’t Remember Your Name
• Politely Disengaging
• Making it Work
• Honesty

Teresa also gives tips to companies on how to include everyone during the holidays.

Episode Timeline

Today’s episode is a replay of episode 81 with guests Chris Johnson and Jason Henry from Nation’s Finest. Teresa McQueen talks with Chris and Jason for a Special Veteran’s Day Episode!

Nation’s Finest provides critical services and support for veterans and their families. Chris and Jason discuss the biggest challenges faced by veterans as they reenter the workforce and the benefits of hiring a veteran.

Jason gives his personal experience on what life was like after the Navy and why he joined Nation’s Finest to help Veteran’s live their best life after the Military.

Don’t miss this Special Veteran’s Day Episode!

Episode Timeline

Thank You To: Chris Johnson and Jason Henry

This is our 100th Episode and to celebrate we are bringing back our very first guest Tina Rad! Tina is a Partner and Attorney Investigator at Wagener Law, APC. Teresa and Tina discuss Avoiding Investigation Pitfalls.

Tina gives here common pitfalls that companies make when contemplating or conducting a workplace investigation:

• PITFALL #1: Failing to Investigate (“Do we really need to do an investigation on this?”)
• PITFALL #2: Moving Too Slowly (“I meant to get to it, but we had a lot going on.”)
• PITFALL #3: Choosing the Wrong Investigator (“I’ve never done an investigation before, but how hard can it be?”)
• PITFALL #4: Not Being Thorough (“I talked to the accuser and got the whole story.”)
• PITFALL #5: Taking Sides (“I’m so sorry this happened to you.”)
• PITFALL #6: Promising Confidentiality (“What you tell me won’t leave this room.”)
• PITFALL #7: Using Bad Interview Tactics (“That’s not what Jane told me, and her story sounds more believable to me than yours.”)
• PITFALL #8: Failure to Properly Document (“I really thought I’d remember.”)
• PITFALL #9: Failure to Reach Conclusions (“It’s a ‘he said, she said’ case – there’s no way to tell what really happened.”)
• PITFALL #10: Bad Investigation Reports (“It was obvious to me what happened, so I didn’t spend too much time explaining.”)

To read more about the common pitfalls, read the article here

To connect with Tina here

To listen to the first episode of Workplace Perspective with Guest Tina Rad click here

Episode Timestamps

Today’s guest is attorney Neil Pedersen. Teresa and Neil discuss the recent Supreme Court decision on Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, and its effect on employees. Neil is a Plaintiff’s Employment Law Attorney at Pedersen Law.

Teresa and Neil discuss what the workplace was like before the Viking River decision and the differences employees will see now.

Connect with Neil here

In episode 97 with guest Connie Chen, Teresa and Connie discussed what employers needed to know about the Viking River decision, listen to it here.

Episode Timeline

Today’s guest is attorney Connie Chen. Teresa and Connie discuss the recent Supreme Court decision on Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, that came down in June 2022. Connie is a Principal at Jackson Lewis P.C.

Teresa and Connie explain the decision of Viking River and the effects it has on employers, what they need to know, and the initial reactions. Connie also explains what makes a good Arbitration Agreement and her thoughts on AB51.

Connect with Connie here.

Connie is a returning guest, she was here for Episode # 54 – A Look at the New COVID Sick Leave Laws: Connie Chen

Episode Timeline

Listen to Nicole Miller, People Operations Manager at Buffer for our Special Holiday Replay! Teresa McQueen talks with Nicole about Buffer’s 2020 4 Day Work Week Experiment. In May 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Buffer decided to experiment with a 4 Day Work Week. After a month, they felt the need to extend the trial of the experiment to December. Listen to the Podcast to see what they found out!

Episode Timeline

We Encouraged People To Make It Their Own. We Really Tried To Look At What Is A Creative Way We Can Address It, Make Our Team Feel Supportive, Make Them Feel Heard And Make Sure That We Are Focusing On The People And Human Component Of Our Work Place.
– Nicole Miller

Thank You To: Nicole Miller

Click here for the article on 4 Day Work Week