An Employer's Guidance On The California Equal Pay Act

Ensuring equal pay for employees performing substantially similar jobs has been a challenge throughout American history. Minorities and women have often suffered from unequal pay despite doing the same work as their white male counterparts. This continues to be a problem today despite federal laws designed to prohibit wage discrimination. Many states have passed their own wage discrimination laws to expand on those passed on a federal level. For example, not only did California pass its Equal Pay Act well before equal pay became a federal law, but it also passed the Fair Pay Act, which built on the laws established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by further expanding the protections of employees against wage discrimination.

What is Wage Discrimination?

Despite the fact that similarly qualified workers who perform the same job duties for the same employer should be paid equal wages, this is often not the case. Unfortunately, minorities and women have historically been paid less than white males even when performing the same jobs with the same level of performance and responsibilities. This is known as wage discrimination. 

The Difference Between  Exempt Vs Non-Exempt Employees

Back in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed to help protect workers from being taken advantage of. It was the FLSA that established the right to minimum wage and overtime pay. It also established the standard 40-hour workweek and put restrictions on employing minors. As a business owner, make sure that you remain in compliance with all the rules and regulations of the FLSA as well as California state labor laws. This can sometimes makes it challenging to classify your employees. Every company has to classify its employees as either exempt or nonexempt employees, and the accuracy of this classification will affect your ability to comply with other labor laws. In fact, misclassifying an employee can result in potentially costly penalties. Here we offer a brief overview of the differences between exempt and nonexempt employees to help clarify for employers how to classify their employees.

California Overtime Law Defined

Labor laws define overtime as work done in excess of the standard eight hour day or the standard 40 hour week. Employees are entitled to earn additional compensation on top of their hourly wage for the hours that they've worked past the standard work day or work week. However, every state has different overtime laws that include exemptions, exceptions, and penalties. Both employers and employees need to be familiar with the overtime laws in California so that they know what to expect in terms of payments--and so employers avoid making costly mistakes. This article presents a detailed guide into the overtime laws in the state of California.

11 Considerations and 401(k) Termination Rules to be Aware Of

If your business currently participates in a 401(k) plan for your employees, then you'll want to know what the rules and regulations are in the event that you ever decide to terminate the plan. There are a number of reasons why you might be considering the termination of your company's 401(k) plan: maybe you're closing down the business or merging with another company. Whatever the reason may be, the following are 11 things to consider if you plan to terminate your company's 401(k) plan.

The term "holiday" can mean different things depending on where a person is from. It can mean legal holidays on the calendar or even vacation time. For the purposes of this piece, because California is subject to U.S. Federal laws, we define "holiday" as any of the federally legal days the United States government.  

For employers, payroll can be one of the most challenging aspects of running a business. Fortunately, by avoiding these ten common mistakes, you can streamline your payroll process and enjoy a simpler and more straightforward experience in the years to come.

Year-end payroll process is complicated, and there’s no doubt there.

You have to calculate taxes, compensation, deductions and still deliver everything on time to your employees as well as the State of California.

Unfortunately, businesses are notorious for creating errors during their year-end closeouts, especially as they try to complete other end-of-year to-dos.

While you are getting ready to close out payroll this year, there are some ways you can lessen the stress and look forward to year’s end.