First, SB 459. This new law increases the penalties ($5,000 to $25,000 per violation) for misclassification of a worker as an independent contractor, when the worker should have been classified as an employee. However, these new penalties only apply if the misclassification was “willful”. Willful is defined by the law as “voluntarily and knowingly misclassifying” an individual. Also, the new law adds a shame factor. If an employer is found to have willfully misclassified, the employer must display this fact prominently on its own website. An employer’s advisor (other than an employee or attorney) who knowingly advises the employer to misclassify a worker as an independent contractor may also have individual liability under the new law.
Second, AB 469: This new law requires that employers provide additional information to new employees at the time of hire, and supplement that information as it changes during the course of employment. The information that now must be provided is: (1) the pay rate and the basis, whether hourly, salary, commission or otherwise, as well as any overtime rate, (2) allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meals or lodging, (3) the regular payday, (4) the name of the employer, including any “doing business as” names used by the employer; (5) the physical address and telephone number of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address if different, and (6) the name, address and telephone number of the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier.
Third, AB 887: The Fair Employment and Housing Act already outlaws gender indentify discrimination. But, this new law amends the act to include another protected classification to the list: “gender expression”. Gender expression refers to a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth. –Adam K. Treiger