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California Employment Law - Good News for 2008

Did you know that thanks to California employment law and the backing of the current Governor, California will have the highest hourly rate of pay in the USA starting January 1, 2008? California employment law will then dictate that a worker's minimum wage will be $8.00 an hour, up from $7.50 an hour.

An added plus is that meal and lodging credits rose by a similar percentage for those workers receiving them from their employers. On the downside, these credits can be included when calculating the minimum wage payable by employers.

Unfortunately, if you are a federal employee and work outside California, your wage remains at $5.15/hour. That bites!

The issue that is receiving most attention at the current time is the payment of overtime. Under California employment law there are two classes of worker - non-exempt and exempt and the inability to know the difference can prove to be expensive

Exempt employees could be eligible for a tax rebate on their overtime earnings whereas non-exempt employees would not qualify for this rebate.

Non-exempt workers do gain a certain level of protection though when compared to exempt workers. Their employers are subject to all the pay rules and regulations set up by the Industrial Welfare Commission, including overtime pay. This means that all non-exempt employees must be paid for all overtime hours worked.

If you are in doubt as to what category your workers fall into, check California employment law codes and regulations for the answer. If it still isn't clear, then call the Department of Labor.

Basically, the category under which an employee falls is based upon their level of responsibility or their professional status. Whether they are receive a wage or salary, or their job title does not have anything to do with it.

Examples of exempt employees under California employment law would include licensed professionals such as lawyers, engineers, doctors, certified public accountants and architects. Managerial staff who are responsible for training, hiring and firing and spend less than 50 percent of their time performing the same duties as their staff also qualify.

The other two categories considered to be exempt are outside sales reps and those who create/formulate business policies for their organizations. Again, if you have any questions about exempt versus non-exempt employees and how to make sure they are paid according to the law, check with the nearest Department of Labor office. Save yourself some time and grief in the long run.

Article Source: http://www.ezarticles.info

Colin R Cherry publishes articles on a variety of subjects. Visit his Employment Guide website. A wealth of Employment Law articles are to be found here.