The California labor laws are deemed as one of the most stringent employment laws in the United States. Hence, it is deemed as the most employee-friendly State due to the laws that it has observed to ensure that all benefits are rewarded to the employees. There are complex components in the California labor law, which needs to be fully understood so that employee and employer rights are preserved.For the year 2011, there are some updates to these laws and all employers need to learn about them in order to avoid any legal disputes in the future. Each of the updated sections of the California Constitution are discussed further below:Wage and CompensationThe revised constitution in California indicates that even if employers in California outsource their payroll processing, the latter is still not held liable for any inconsistencies or shortcomings. This is a common business practice utilized by a lot of companies based in California to reduce the overhead costs of hiring their own payroll processing team. In case there are any violations in the wage and hourly policies of the employee, the employer is responsible and held accountable for it, not the outsourced payroll company. This also includes any wages or employees for overtime and meal period.On the other hand, it is a beneficial law for administrative employees being hired to handle outsourced payroll services. These companies are only existing to provide services such as computing withholding tax, issued paychecks, and wages for employees. Thus, payroll preparation does not meet the grounds for making them liable for any of wage problems and disputes filed against the company.Agreements on Employee Compensation The California labor law, with regards to compensation policies and agreements from the employer, is waived only if it meets any of the following conditions:1) the duration of the policy is indefinite or not finalized,
2) the employer has issued a reasonable notice about changes to the policy, and
3) it must not intervene with the employee’s ability to obtain benefits from the company as part of the employment.Any conditions outside of those stipulated above is subject to employer liability. There are more complex concepts involved in this aspect and it is both the employer and employee’s rights to keep themselves informed as to the scope of the law, especially for this particular component.These are areas of the law that had been revised over the past year. It is important that California-based employers should keep themselves informed about any of these changes, as well as its corresponding consequences to your company and its employees. Make sure that you review the compensation agreement with the help of an employment law firm to preserve your employer rights. Consulting with a legal counsel can provide you with expert advice on all areas of the law that affects your business.The rampant cases of employer liability and legal disputes concerning employer violation, or deprivation of employee benefits, has made such legal counsel services a must. With the stringent California labor laws, it is easy to commit employer liability and you would not want this to happen as you would be in for more trouble.