The California Chamber of Commerce identified the first “job killer” bill of the year. SB 626 (Beall; D-San Jose) severely undercuts the recent workers’ compensation reform deal agreed to by labor unions and employers.

The bill proposes dramatic cost increases for California employers and would leave them worse off than before the reforms of last year were enacted. 

SB 626 eliminates the entire balance of the deal and would erase hundreds of millions of dollars in projected savings. Specifically, SB 626 would roll back reforms dealing with timely, high-quality medical treatment and a more predictable, and less litigious, permanent disability system.

HR Informant will continue to add legislation to the “job killer” list throughout the year as bills are amended or new language is introduced.

For the complete story, please visit this CalChamber Top Story. For more information on past job killers, please visit CalChamber’s Job Killers page.

Daylight saving time is set to start Sunday, March 10. This will make for many a cranky worker next Monday morning, and lots of grumbling about needing extra coffee.

For most people, the time shift means adjusting various clocks around the house that aren’t smart enough to adjust themselves and losing an hour of beauty rest. 

But people who work the graveyard shift might lose something else. What should employers know about timekeeping practices for workers whose shifts are affected by the time change?

The Wall Street Journal’s At Work blog recently covered research showing that hiring and dating may not be that far apart.

The study, conducted by the Kellogg School of Management, found that hiring managers approached the candidate evaluation process in a manner that resembles selecting romantic partners.

Employers who need to apply for H-1B visas for foreign workers in specialized skill areas should start getting ready. U.S. businesses typically use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, such as science, engineering or computer programming.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Friday April 1, 2013.

A Detroit nurse out on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave for a back and leg injury was fired after Facebook posts showed her vacationing in Mexico. Her doctor certified the need for her leave due to substantial lifting and mobility restrictions. But several Facebook posts showed the nurse in Mexico riding in a boat; lying on a bed holding up two bottles of beer.

She also posted other details about her life that seemed inconsistent with her leave, including pictures of herself holding her grandchildren while standing (one in each arm), details about trips to Home Depot, “watching” the grandchildren and taking online classes.

HRInformant previously reported that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued important new regulations expanding federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections. 

The new regulations require a mandatory change to the federal FMLA poster entitled Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

To clarify any confusion employers may have, the new FMLA regulations (and the FMLA posting requirement) do not affect you if you are a private-sector employer with less than 50 employees.

The FMLA applies only to the following covered employers:

Proposals to raise the minimum wage have been placed on the table at both the federal and state level. 

At the federal level, President Obama used his State of the Union address to unveil his plan to raise the federal minimum wage rate in stages to $9 an hour by 2015. The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 an hour.

At the state level, a California legislator introduced a bill (AB 10 - Alejo) to raise the minimum wage in stages to $9.25 an hour by 2016. The current minimum wage in California is $8 an hour. The bill also proposes to tie the minimum wage to the California Consumer Price Index beginning January 1, 2017. This would allow for annual upward adjustments to the minimum wage.

The bill, as currently drafted, would prohibit the state Industrial Welfare Commission from adjusting the minimum wage downward and from adjusting the minimum wage upward if the average percentage of inflation from the previous year was negative.

The federal proposal is also tied to inflation.

The federal minimum wage has not been adjusted since 2007. The state minimum wage was adjusted in 2008.

Reminder: Employers in San Jose must comply with a new city minimum wage ordinance effective March 11, 2013. The minimum wage rate for local businesses in San Jose will increase to $10 an hour.

San Francisco has had a higher minimum wage in effect since 2004. The current rate for employers with employees working in San Francisco is $10.55 an hour. Both San Francisco and San Jose have mandatory minimum wage posting requirements. These posters are available for purchase from HR Allen Consulting Services.

As California moves toward implementation of the Affordable Care Act, wellness programs that promote healthy choices to prevent illness are in the spotlight of the latest edition of CalChamber News.

Under the law, federal grants may be available to some small businesses to offset the cost of established wellness programs, and insurance companies must provide wellness services, such as counseling and health screenings, at no extra cost to the employee.

Companies such as Safeway have made the investment and launched a workplace wellness program long ago, encouraging workers to take personal responsibility for their health.

Visit CalChamber.com for the full story, as well as video coverage.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the city of San Francisco settled with a Chinatown Restaurant for $525,000 in back wages and penalties for wage-and-hour violations. The restaurant allegedly had employees working 11- to 14-hour days, six days per week for below $4 per hour.

The settlement, according to the article, is the single largest the city has received. San Francisco’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the city’s labor laws, which include a higher minimum wage ($10.55 an hour) than the state rate.

The city’s complaint against the restaurant alleged that employees were given fake three-hour work schedules, paid by check at minimum wage for those three hours, and then paid the rest in cash (at well below the minimum wage).

City Attorney Dennis Herrera brought the lawsuit. “We want to make sure that we’re sending a message that we’re serious about fighting wage theft and policing unfair competition,” said Herrera.

San Francisco enacted specific labor laws that apply to those employees who work in the city. These laws include the higher minimum wage, paid sick leave and a health care security ordinance. These city ordinances also come with mandatory posting requirements. 

Winners again! HR Allen Consulting Services was awarded the Best Human Resource and Payroll Company. At their annual Chamber Awards luncheon, the Citrus Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce honored HR Allen Consulting Services with their second Best of Citrus Heights Award for 2012. The Chamber honors the best in the Citrus Heights business community each year and HR Allen Consulting Services received the highest number of votes in their category of Human Resources and Payroll.