California #HR professionals already have a lot of state-specific details they need to understand. This year, many new laws are taking effect, and employers are grappling with a flurry of court rulings and regulatory activity from 2014.
To help clarify the changes, the California Chamber of Commerce provided an overview in Long Beach on Jan. 14, 2015–one in a series of seminars being held statewide this month.
Since 2006, California law has required all employers of 50 or more who conduct business in the state to provide at least two hours of interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees. That training is required at least once every two years and must be conducted by qualified trainers, defined by law and including attorneys who meet specific criteria. New supervisors and new hires in supervisory positions have to be trained within six months of assuming a supervisory position. The content of that training is specified by law.
San Diego’s hotly contested minimum wage ordinance has been put on ice until at least 2016. The City Council approved the ordinance in July and then later overrode the mayor’s veto. A petition drive by San Diego business leaders has now succeeded in forcing the issue to the ballot.
In addition to choosing candidates for federal, state and local offices on Nov. 4, voters in many states will be tasked with addressing several important public-policy questions.
In Massachusetts, voters will be asked to decide whether employers should be required to provide paid sick leave to employees. Minimum-wage measures have been certified to appear on the ballots in five states. 
If you’re anything like me, you don’t spend too much time thinking about how much money is in your retirement account. Yes, I know, I’m a tax and benefits lobbyist, so you’d think that I’d know what my balance is down to the penny! But the truth is, like many employees, although I know that I’m contributing to my retirement account, I don’t fret about the details on a daily basis. That’s about to change, as pending tax reform could significantly impact not only the types of investment options available but whether employees will have access to a retirement account at all.
The number of employment-related immigration bills that state legislatures enacted in 2012 declined from 2011, according to a report the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released Jan. 29, 2013.
In 2012 Immigration-Related Laws and Resolutions in the States, the NCSL said states put immigration “on the back burner” while focusing on budget deficits and redistricting. In addition, the NCSL said, states “hit the pause button” because they were awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2492 (2012).
With little fanfare, the one-year-old Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become the chief enforcer of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and has issued revised FCRA forms employers and consumer reporting agencies must start using no later than Jan. 1, 2013.
Since the demise of the Employee Free Choice Act (or “card check bill”) following the 2010 midterm election, the Obama Administration has increasingly pushed labor-management relations policy through the executive branch. Throughout 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued significant case decisions and substantive regulations.
