IRS Mileage Rates for 2023 – 65.5 cents per mile for business use; 22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces; 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
California’s Pay Transparency for Pay Equity law went into effect May 2023- Companies with more than 100 employees are required to disclose annual pay data broken down by demographics.
- All employers regardless of size are required to provide existing employees with the salary range for their positions
- Employers with more than 15 employees are required to disclose salary ranges on all job advertisements.
Need help with salary ranges, give The Evans HR GROUP a call at 559-258-6130
Minimum Pay (State) – January 1, 2023 minimum wage increased to $15.50 per hour for all employers as a result of the U.S. Consumer Price Index increase of 7.9 percent from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. California Labor Code Section 1182.12 requires that the minimum wage for all employers – not just those with 26 or more employees—must be set to the same amount. Beginning in 2024, the minimum wage will continue to increase each year up to 3.5 percent based on inflation as measured by the national CPI. Minimum wage increases affect a) overtime rates, b) exempt/non-exempt status; c) piece rate employees; d) draws against commissions and more. Be sure to check your city/county for any applicable local minimum wage rate increases.
Drug Screening – Effective January 1, 2024, employers will be prohibited from discriminating against an employee or job applicant based on the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. Preemployment drug testing will still be permissible, and employers can refuse to hire someone based on a positive testbut only if it’s a valid preemployment drug screening that doesn’t screen for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites. Employers will only be able to use tests that screen for psychoactive compounds which may require the use of different tests. If you screen for drugs, be prepared for this change. The new law doesn’t permit an employe to possess, be impaired by or use cannabis on the job and maintains the employer’s rights and obligations in keeping a drug-and alcohol-free workplace.
Arbitration – Arbitration law in California is still unsettled. However, on February 15, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that invalidates AB51. AB51 is currently unenforceable so California employers may continue to use mandatory arbitration agreements for now. This issue could go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
AB1041 expands who an employee can care for under both the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA). As of January 1, 2023, both laws allow employees to take leave to care for a “designated person” in addition to a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling. The definition of “designated person is a little different for both laws. CFRA defines “designated person as “any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship”. The employee may designate the person at the time the employee makes the request for the leave. Under the HWHFA, a designated person is a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days.
Bereavement Leave – Bereavement leave in California is now a protected leave of absence and applies to all private-sector employers with 5 or more employees and all public-sector employers. Employees who have been employed with the employer for at least 30 days prior to starting the leave, are able to take up to five days of unpaid bereavement leave upon the death of a family member (spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner or parent-in-law).