THE “SILVER LINING” TO RAISING EXEMPT SALARIES. California employers had a few weeks to increase exempt salaries to the then-new federal minimum of $47,476/year (deadline December 1), or reclassify those employees as non-exempt. The national attention offered a rare opportunity to correct prior misclassification errors without raising a red flag. To be exempt from overtime, a position must meet both a salary test and a duties test; the duties test relies on many factors and is easy to get wrong, so many employers unknowingly misclassify employees. Because an innocent mistake is not a defense, misclassification can be very costly — e.g., an “exempt” employee earning $50,000/year who worked 10-hour days six days a week but didn’t spend more than half their time on exempt duties could generate roughly $108,000 in unpaid overtime over three years, plus interest and possible penalties. Employers who discovered a misclassification could reclassify positions as non-exempt by December 1 and take corrective action under cover of the national attention.

PAID TIME OFF TO VOTE. Under California law, employees may take paid time off to vote in statewide elections only if they do not have sufficient time outside working hours. Polls are open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., so most employees will have ample time. A qualifying employee must give at least two days’ advance notice; must be given as much time as needed but only a maximum of two hours is paid; and the employer may require the time be taken at the beginning or end of a shift. Employers must post a notice at least 10 days before the election.

NEW LAW ON SINGLE-USER WORKPLACE TOILET FACILITIES. Beginning March 1, 2017, all single-user toilet facilities must be identified as all-gender facilities. A “single-user toilet facility” is one with no more than one toilet and one urinal and a locking mechanism controlled by the user.

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