As the dust settles on festive holiday season celebrations, Californians begin to discover new laws that took effect on January 1, 2018.
Hundreds of new laws have been introduced across California starting this year, but Kaufman Law Firm has outlined the ones that will most likely affect you and members of your family.
The new California laws in 2018 are set to bring dramatic changes to the employment process, parental leave policies, equal pay regulations, and, of course, minimum wage requirements for employers.
Starting January 2018, new California employment laws prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. The new laws are set to introduce major changes to job interview standards.
It will no longer be legal to ask about or rely on information about job applicants’ prior salaries and/or their criminal history. With the new laws, California lawmakers expect to tackle the growing gender pay gap and make the hiring process fair for all.
Our California employment law attorneys explain under which circumstances you may be entitled to take legal action against employers for violating the new California laws in 2018.
Inquiring into or relying on your salary and conviction history to reject your employment is illegal under the salary and conviction privacy bill in 2018. It is now equally illegal to decrease compensation or benefits for a particular position after learning that the employee used to have a lower salary in the past.
The new employment laws also require employers to disclose a salary scale for every position to a job applicant upon request.
Asking job applicants about or relying on prior criminal offences is illegal. Also, the new laws prohibit California employers from denying employment to those whose prior criminal history has no relation to their duties in the position.
Under new employment laws in California and all across California, new parents at small companies of at least 20 employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their child or to bond with a newborn.
The New Parent Leave Act, which took effect on January 1, allows employees to take parental leave within 12 months since the child’s birth, adoption or foster care placement. The new law protects eligible employees going on parental leave from losing their health coverage during the leave.
New employment laws in 2018 also broaden the state’s equal pay law to address the gender pay gap in government jobs. Also, minimum wage requirements have increased across the state by $0.50, from $10 to $10.50 per hour for employees at small companies with 25 or fewer employees.
Employees at larger companies will now be getting at least $11 per hour, up from $10.50 in 2017.
The new minimum wage requirements haven’t affected California, our employment law attorneys say. Our skilled lawyers explain that employees in the city are already getting a minimum pay of $10.50 per hour at smaller firms and $12 at larger firms.
Starting July 1 2018, employers in California will be legally required to bump wages to at least $12 an hour at smaller firms and $13.25 at larger companies.
Starting September, California residents will be able to choose a gender-neutral option on their birth certificate to prevent discrimination against transgender and intersex individuals as well as those who don’t identify as male or female.
In our over three decades of experience in litigating employment violations by California employers, our employment law attorneys warn employees in the city to keep an eye on how the new employment laws are being implemented by their employers.
It’s not unheard of when employers fail to implement changes to their workplace policies and wage requirements after new laws come into effect. Consult our California employment law attorneys to find out if your employer’s actions constitute employment law violations in California.
Here at the Kaufman Law Firm, our best attorneys adopt an aggressive approach to take on both small and large companies to seek justice for those whose employment rights have been violated.
Call our California offices at 310-981-3404 to get an initial consultation.
Your job is more than just a source of income. It is a major part of your lifestyle. If you have been the victim of wrongful termination, wrongful demotion or any kind of discriminatory business practices, it is time to take action and contact a Ventura employment law attorney that can help. Attorney Matthew A. Kaufman and the team at The Kaufman Law Firm bring experience and a vast arsenal of legal resources to help clients recover the money they deserve.
To learn more, contact our California law office today and schedule an initial evaluation to discuss your case.