A proposed regulation which would permit certain H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) was published on May 12, 2014 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Unfortunately not all H-4 spouses will be eligible for an EAD. The proposed regulation limits EADs to H-4 spouses where the H-1B…
Continue reading ›Employers should be reminded that starting on July 1, 2014, the California minimum wage will be $9.00. This affects not only all minimum wage earners, but also executive and administrative overtime exempt employees. One of the factors that determines whether an employee is exempt from the laws requiring overtime wages is whether they are paid…
Continue reading ›On March 26, 2014, the First District Court of Appeal in Lewis v. City of Benicia, No. A134078, _ Cal. App. 4th _ (1st Dist. Mar. 26, 2014) held in its published decision that a jury had reasonable basis to conclude that a supervisor engaged in a pervasive pattern of same-sex harassing conduct. Such conduct…
Continue reading ›The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2015 has been received. It has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption. U.S. businesses use the…
Continue reading ›Employers and Employees should be reminded that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will begin accepting H-1B petitions that are subject to the FY 2015 numerical limitation (the “cap”) on April 1, 2014, for employment with a start date of October 1, 2014 or later. The H-1B numerical cap is limited to 65,000 visas…
Continue reading ›Effective January 1, 2014, all California employers are required to provide unpaid time-off for employees who are victims of a serious or violent felony to attend judicial proceedings related to the crime. The term “crime victim” applies to an employee who is a victim, the immediate family member of a victim, the registered partner of…
Continue reading ›On December 3, 2013, the Court of Appeal recently held in Horne v. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 16 that a person who alleged he was racially discriminated against by a prospective employer could not establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination because of his prior drug conviction. The plaintiff…
Continue reading ›The following is a summary of the new Labor Laws, most of which will take effect on January 1, 2014: The current $8-an-hour state minimum wage will increase to $9 on July 1, 2014, and to $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016. The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights will provide overtime wages for certain…
Continue reading ›Starting on January 1, 2014, California employers will be required by law to provide their employees with a “recovery period,” which is defined to be a “cooldown period afforded an employee to prevent heat illness.” Under the new law, which amends Labor Code section 226.7, an employer who forces an employee to work during a…
Continue reading ›Employers need to remember that California’s new minimum wage law will affect how they must pay their exempt employees, such as managers and admininstrators. In July 2014, the California minimum wage will increase to $9 per hour, and then to $10 per hour in January 2016. This law does not only affect how employers pay…
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