Employer Checklist for the New Year

By THERESA KIEHN | President/CEO, AgSafe

The start of the new year signaled the onset of new employer laws and regulations which have an impact on how you manage your business and employees. While some of these regulations might have been on your radar, I imagine a few of these will take you by surprise and will require procedure adjustments. This article will provide an overview of these new laws and regulations as well as practical solutions for implementation.

California Wage Increase

On January 1, 2023, the new California minimum wage rate reached $15.50 for all employers, regardless of employer size. January marked the final installment of California’s seven-year minimum wage rate increase. Moving forward, employers will need to continue to plan for increases as high as 3.5% each year to reflect annual cost of living increase. The Governor is required to make the minimum wage determination by September 1 for the next year, which gives businesses a short window to plan for their employee costs in the next calendar year. Additionally, pay close attention to your local ordinances as some have imposed minimum wage rates higher than the state. For example, the cities of Sonoma, Santa Rosa and Petaluma have minimum wage rates currently higher than $15.50 per hour, and as an employer in those communities, you would be required to pay those higher rates.

In addition to increasing the minimum wage, legislation also created a parallel wage increase for overtime exempt employees. The law requires exempt employees to earn twice the minimum wage rate. For instance, in

2023, all employees are required to compensate exempt employees at no less than $31 per hour with a 40-hour workweek with an annual salary of $64,480. And just like the minimum wage requirement, a yearly increase, not to exceed 3.5% in one year, will be enacted after reaching the $31 an hour rate. For additional questions on these wage increases, please visit the State of California’s Department of Indus trial Relations FAQs at dir.ca.gov/dlse/ sb3_faq.htm.

Overtime for Agricultural Workers

In 2016, the California legislature also passed Assembly Bill 1066 which created a gradual timetable for agricul tural workers as defined by Wage Order 14 to receive overtime pay like those in other industries. In January 2022, large employers (those with more than 26 employees) and in January 2025, small employers (those with 25 or less employee), are required to pay overtime to workers once they work more than an eight-hour day or more than 40 hours in a workweek. AB 1066, now in its fifth year of implementation, re quires large employers to pay overtime at 1.5 regular rate of pay if an employee works more than eight hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a workweek. Small employers, on the other hand, pay overtime wages once a worker defined as a spouse, or a child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner or parent-in-law. Ensure

The first part of the regulation requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scale information for all formation on pay scale ranges must be ment and three years after their tenure. Penalties for non-compliance are steep