Public agency employers in California are facing increasing pressure to offer competitive, flexible, and legally compliant employee benefits. But there is one foundational document many agencies still overlook or perhaps do not fully understand—the Section 125 cafeteria plan. Without it, certain popular and tax-advantaged benefits cannot be offered, and agencies may inadvertently run afoul of
If your agency is a contracting agency with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), chances are you have heard about the important distinctions between an “employee” and an “independent contractor” under the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL). Whether an individual is an “employee” or an “independent contractor” determines whether the individual must be enrolled
This blog was originally published in December 2013 but has been reviewed and updated for 2025.
It’s that time of year again to reflect on this year’s achievements and set goals for the new year. With the beginning of 2025 upon us, we encourage managers, supervisors, and human resources personnel to add the following five
Senate Bill (SB) 399, the “California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act” (“Act”), will prohibit compelled attendance at employer-mandated meetings to discuss political and religious matters, including the decision to join or support a labor union. The Act adds the new Labor Code section 1137, and is effective January 1, 2025.
Prohibition Against Employer-Mandated Political
You have probably heard a lot about leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California Family Rights Act (CRFA), and other well-established leave laws, but below are some less common types of leave that employers should recognize and cover in their policies.
SCHOOL ACTIVITY
The Family School Partnership Act provides employees the option
This post appeared in November 2017. It was reviewed in September 2024 to provide the most up-to-date legal information.
This principle used to be clear – paid administrative leave was outside the scope of adverse employment action. This was based on court holdings that an employee suffers no substantial or material change in terms and
Late last year, President Biden issued Executive Order No. 14110 laying out his Administration’s policy directions to federal agencies concerning the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) by individuals and organizations under their jurisdiction.
In response to the Executive Order, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a list of “Principles for Developers and Employers” (“DOL AI
Assembling and maintaining your workforce is a crucial step in the execution of your organization’s mission and goals. Every employee is fulfilling a purposefully designed role within your operations and their current duties are supposed to be set forth by their position’s classification specification (“class spec”). The upkeep of class specs can understandably get lost
This blog article was authored by Partner Liz Arce in 2013 and continues to be one of our most popular articles. This post was reviewed in May 2024 and is up-to-date.
Many public employers utilize 9/80 work schedules for non-exempt employees. A 9/80 work schedule is essentially a two-workweek schedule of eight 9-hour days,
