Latest news with #AB1228
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Understanding California Employment Laws: Camron Dowlatshahi of MSD Lawyers Offers Expert Insight
LOS ANGELES, CA, July 8, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- Camron Dowlatshahi, opens new tab, partner at MSD Lawyers, opens new tab, today shared insights on how to navigate California's employment law landscape, one of the most dynamic and complex in the United States. Staying informed about these regulations is not just a matter of best practice but a legal necessity for employers and employees. Navigating this intricate web requires a comprehensive understanding of state mandates, ranging from wage and hour laws to anti-discrimination statutes. Compliance is paramount for all businesses operating in the Golden State to avoid legal pitfalls and foster a positive work environment. Employees must also know their rights and protections under these laws to ensure rightful and fair treatment so they can advocate for themselves when necessary. Key Aspects of California Employment Law California employment law is unique due to its progressive nature and robust employee protections. Unlike federal law, which sets a baseline, California often goes further to safeguard workers' rights. For example, California's minimum wage consistently exceeds the federal level, and the state provides more expansive leave entitlements. These differences highlight the importance of focusing specifically on California law for anyone working or employing individuals within the state. Employers must be vigilant to ensure their current policies and practices align with these stringent state requirements, as non-compliance or complacency can lead to significant legal, reputational, and financial repercussions. Employees also benefit from understanding these enhanced protections, empowering them to recognize and address workplace violations. Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2025, the new mandated minimum wage for all employers is $16.50 per hour, opens new tab. Additionally, fast food workers will earn $20.00 per hour, opens new tab starting April 1, 2024, under AB 1228. Certain healthcare workers earn between $18 and $25+ per hour, opens new tab in phases under SB 525. These sector-specific increases underscore the state's ongoing efforts to address wage equity across industries. Employee Protections California offers broad employee protections through the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which is now enforced by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), opens new tab. FEHA covers various employment practices, including anti-discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination safeguards, ensuring that workers are treated fairly regardless of their status, background, or identity. Leave Entitlements California provides more generous leave entitlements than those required under federal law. For instance, SB 616 expands paid sick leave, opens new tab to five days or 40 hours annually. Additional leave provisions exist for circumstances such as family care, pregnancy, and issues related to domestic violence. Retaliation Protections Employees in California are legally protected from retaliation when they report workplace misconduct. This includes retaliation for reporting discrimination, harassment, unsafe working conditions, and wage violations or exercising their rights under various leave laws. These protections are critical to ensure employees can speak out without fear or danger of losing their jobs. Wrongful Termination Protections Under FEHA California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), now administered by the Civil Rights Department (CRD), is a cornerstone of employee protection against discrimination, harassment, and retaliatory termination. FEHA prohibits employers from wrongfully terminating employees based on several protected characteristics, ensuring a workplace free from bias. Protected categories include race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, religion, age (over 40), marital status, and more. California is an at-will employment state; hence, employers can terminate employees without cause, provided the reason is not illegal. However, FEHA offers essential limits for this doctrine. Discriminatory or retaliatory terminations are unlawful, and protections also extend to employees engaging in protected activities such as filing complaints or participating in lawful investigations. California law further recognizes "implied contracts," meaning that employer actions or assurances may create a reasonable expectation of continued employment, even absent a written contract. Additionally, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) allows employees to rightfully file lawsuits on behalf of themselves and others for Labor Code violations, which may arise after reporting wrongful termination, opens new tab or other workplace misconduct, reflecting the state's strong commitment to labor rights enforcement. Expanded Protections: Cannabis, Intersectionality, and Safety As of January 1, 2024, under AB 2188, California prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees for off-duty cannabis use, opens new tab, provided it does not impair performance or safety-sensitive duties. Exceptions apply to federal contractors and safety-related roles. FEHA already protects against discrimination based on multiple overlapping characteristics (intersectionality), and recent CRD enforcement emphasizes this. Meanwhile, SB 553 (2023) requires California employers to implement written workplace violence prevention, opens new tab plans by July 1, 2024, highlighting a new era of proactive safety in employment law. Reimbursement and Remote Work California Labor Code §2802 requires all the state's employers to reimburse their employees for incurred necessary business expenses. For remote workers, this includes partial reimbursement of internet and phone expenses if essential for work. Resources for Employers and Employees Employers can access compliance resources from the California Chamber of Commerce and use HR management software like Gusto to automate payroll, track labor law updates, and maintain accurate employee records. The Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) study notes that integrating HR tech can reduce compliance violations by up to 20 percent. For up-to-date guidance, employees should consult the official channels of the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) websites. Legal aid organizations provide support to workers facing wrongful termination or wage violations. Employees facing discrimination or retaliation should consult employment law attorneys early to understand their options. Stay Compliant and Empowered: Your Next Steps in California Employment Law California's employment laws are comprehensive and strongly favor employee protection, requiring careful attention from employers and workers. Understanding key factors such as wrongful termination protections under FEHA, minimum wage obligations, leave entitlements, expense reimbursements, and new safety mandates is essential to maintaining compliance. Now is the time to assess your workplace policies, update your employee handbooks, and consult with qualified legal counsel to ensure you're compliant and prepared for what's ahead. You can foster a compliant, equitable, and safe workplace by utilizing available tools and staying informed on legislative changes. Staying proactive is the best strategy to thrive in California's dynamic legal environment. About MSD Lawyers MSD Lawyers, based in downtown Los Angeles, is a litigation-focused law firm representing clients across the city's most dynamic industries. Our attorneys handle matters involving business litigation, employment disputes, real estate, and intellectual property. With experience representing everyone from Fortune 500 companies to individuals, we combine the resources of a high-level litigation team with the personalized service of a boutique firm. From case inception to trial, we aggressively protect our clients' interests at every stage. For more information, visit opens new tab. Media Contact Camron Dowlatshahi camron@ ### SOURCE: MSD Lawyers Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Business is tough,' California fast-food franchise owner says
Question: When you get applicants for openings, have you found that they are more experienced or more mature? Are you getting a different caliber of candidates? Keung: Yeah. But my retention has been great. The employees still continue to have great benefits, and the wages help supplement that. Prior to April, I had an 85% turnover rate, and it's been cut in half, down to about 40% turnover for the last year. So, the employees we have are staying. I want to continue to invest in our employees, but it's been very challenging to bring on new people. When we do have hours available, I want to invest in the people we already have. That's part of the reason why our hiring has taken such a big turn compared to the previous year. The biggest impact has been on our workforce. Since April, I've cut my hours in our restaurants by 16%, and my roster size has gone down. Twelve months prior to April, I had around 413 employees for seven restaurants. Now, I'm down to 384 the past year. That's around a 10% cut in the number of employees across the entire organization. Thankfully, I haven't had to do any layoffs, and that's one of the first things we wanted to make clear to our employees is that we're not going to have a mass layoff to compensate for the 25% wage increase. But to be fair, our hiring has gone down. Prior to April last year, we had hired 317 people. Since April of last year, I've hired 140, so my hiring is down by over 50% compared to the previous year. Keung: It's definitely had a huge impact on our operations. Of course, the last thing we wanted to do was increase prices. To be honest, we had to take some measures prior to April (2024), but since then, I've been very hesitant to take those actions. KTLA recently spoke with Mike Keung, whose family owns seven McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles County (one in the city of L.A., four in Palmdale, and two in Lancaster), to learn how AB 1228 has impacted his business and staffing. Below is a transcript of the conversation. By all measurements, the large franchises, including McDonald's, Subway, Chipotle and Burger King, have raised menu prices to protect their bottom line. At the same time, competing data points have obscured the impact on employment. It's been over a year since California raised the minimum wage for fast-food employees from $16 to $20 per hour, the highest of any state in the nation. Story Continues Keung: That's definitely something we were interested in seeing. We used to have around 35 applicants per day across the entire organization. That's jumped up to around 50 applicants per day, so we've seen a 40% increase in applications compared to the previous year. We have a large variety of people coming in now with different backgrounds. More recently, we've been hiring teachers who are looking for second jobs. We've also hired people from the packaging industry, like FedEx and UPS, looking for second jobs on the weekends or after school. These types of employees are a huge benefit to our organization because they bring maturity. We love working with teachers. We sponsor teacher events every May and almost quarterly, we host classes with schools and fundraise for those classes. With teachers in the restaurant, they show the same type of work ethic and mentality, and they serve as great role models for our younger employees. How fast food prices in California have changed since the minimum wage hike Question: How's business? Keung: Business is tough. Looking at our gross sales and customer visits compared to last year, as an organization, I'm down around 16%. Customers are not coming in. I think with April (2024), a lot of the media showed that we needed to prepare for potential price increases. Although we did not increase prices as much as many of our partners, we're still seeing the effects on customers. A lot of people don't want to come into the restaurant, which is fair considering the feedback we're seeing. The decline in business has sustained since last year. Anecdotally, when I talk to customers and drivers, it seems like a lot of people just aren't going out. They don't want to leave their homes, and we're definitely seeing that in the restaurants. Question: Have any of the new value meal promotions worked? Keung: I think they have been effective. It's not just McDonald's; you see everyone trying to offer some type of fixed dollar meal. It definitely brings in additional customers. However, profitability-wise, it's not fair. We're trying to bring in customers and sustain their purchases, but it doesn't do enough to balance the changes that came with AB 1228. Question: Do you think lowering prices could move the needle for you as a volume play? Keung: That's pretty much what these value menu items and deals have done. With the $5 meal deal at McDonald's, our average check has dropped around 10% compared to last year. When we don't have as many customers coming in and our average check drops, it impacts our top line. It's definitely been a challenge. McDonald's is trying to bring in new items this year, and there's a lot of excitement coming in the next two weeks that I can't talk about yet. We're trying to offer more products that hopefully more customers can enjoy. Question: Anything else you'd like to share? Keung: Another significant impact of AB 1228 is our ability to continue supporting the local community. In the past, we always held fundraiser events for local cops, sheriffs, and teachers. But one of the biggest challenges this year has been supporting more local charities and fundraisers in terms of monetary donations. That's something we've had to step back from because, at this point, I'm pulling from my own savings to fund payroll and other company expenses. I'm no longer able to support additional fundraisers and charities monetarily as much as we did before. We've also had to reduce some of our employee benefits and restaurant perks. Every year, whenever we have visits from the health department or a company event and receive a good score, we would always reward the restaurants with funds to host their own parties, events, and buy gifts for everyone. But we've had to cut back on some of these incentives because we just don't have the funds to be able to support those types of projects anymore. I also want to talk about what McDonald's franchises do and what they are. There's a misconception that McDonald's in Southern California is a large corporation. But what people don't see is that these are family businesses. There are 635 franchise restaurants in Southern California, operated by 90 individual owner-operated organizations that are all family-owned and operated for generations. My family has been here since we started our first restaurant in 2004, but there are multi-generational families in Southern California that invest in local communities and are great partners. With the changes last year, it's just more challenging to support the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California McDonald's owner discusses impact of minimum wage increase
It's been over a year since California raised the minimum wage for fast-food employees from $16 to $20 per hour, the highest of any state in the nation. By all measurements, the large franchises, including McDonald's, Subway, Chipotle and Burger King, have raised menu prices to protect their bottom line. At the same time, competing data points have obscured the impact on employment. Trade groups say the law, Assembly Bill 1228, has led to widespread job losses. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office insists it has not. KTLA recently spoke with Mike Keung, whose family owns seven McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles County, one in the city of L.A., four in Palmdale and two in Lancaster, to learn how AB 1228 has impacted his business and staffing. Below is a transcript of the conversation. Question: Mike, as a McDonald's franchise owner, what has changed since AB 1228 was signed into law? Keung: It's definitely had a huge impact on our operations. Of course, the last thing we wanted to do was increase prices. To be honest, we had to take some measures prior to April (2024), but since then, I've been very hesitant to take those actions. The biggest impact has been on our workforce. Since April, I've cut my hours in our restaurants by 16%, and my roster size has gone down. Twelve months prior to April, I had around 413 employees for seven restaurants. Now, I'm down to 384 the past year. That's around a 10% cut in the number of employees across the entire organization. Thankfully, I haven't had to do any layoffs, and that's one of the first things we wanted to make clear to our employees is that we're not going to have a mass layoff to compensate for the 25% wage increase. But to be fair, our hiring has gone down. Prior to April last year, we had hired 317 people. Since April of last year, I've hired 140, so my hiring is down by over 50% compared to the previous year. Question: So, these cuts have been through attrition? Keung: Yeah. But my retention has been great. The employees still continue to have great benefits, and the wages help supplement that. Prior to April, I had an 85% turnover rate, and it's been cut in half, down to about 40% turnover for the last year. So, the employees we have are staying. I want to continue to invest in our employees, but it's been very challenging to bring on new people. When we do have hours available, I want to invest in the people we already have. That's part of the reason why our hiring has taken such a big turn compared to the previous year. Question: When you get applicants for openings, have you found that they are more experienced or more mature? Are you getting a different caliber of candidates? Keung: That's definitely something we were interested in seeing. We used to have around 35 applicants per day across the entire organization. That's jumped up to around 50 applicants per day, so we've seen a 40% increase in applications compared to the previous year. We have a large variety of people coming in now with different backgrounds. More recently, we've been hiring teachers who are looking for second jobs. We've also hired people from the packaging industry, like FedEx and UPS, looking for second jobs on the weekends or after school. These types of employees are a huge benefit to our organization because they bring maturity. We love working with teachers. We sponsor teacher events every May and almost quarterly, we host classes with schools and fundraise for those classes. With teachers in the restaurant, they show the same type of work ethic and mentality, and they serve as great role models for our younger employees. Question: How's business? Keung: Business is tough. Looking at our gross sales and customer visits compared to last year, as an organization, I'm down around 16%. Customers are not coming in. I think with April (2024), a lot of the media showed that we needed to prepare for potential price increases. Although we did not increase prices as much as many of our partners, we're still seeing the effects on customers. A lot of people don't want to come into the restaurant, which is fair considering the feedback we're seeing. The decline in business has sustained since last year. Anecdotally, when I talk to customers and drivers, it seems like a lot of people just aren't going out. They don't want to leave their homes, and we're definitely seeing that in the restaurants. Question: Have any of the new value meal promotions worked? Keung: I think they have been effective. It's not just McDonald's; you see everyone trying to offer some type of fixed dollar meal. It definitely brings in additional customers. However, profitability-wise, it's not fair. We're trying to bring in customers and sustain their purchases, but it doesn't do enough to balance the changes that came with AB 1228. Question: Do you think lowering prices could move the needle for you as a volume play? Keung: That's pretty much what these value menu items and deals have done. With the $5 meal deal at McDonald's, our average check has dropped around 10% compared to last year. When we don't have as many customers coming in and our average check drops, it impacts our top line. It's definitely been a challenge. McDonald's is trying to bring in new items this year, and there's a lot of excitement coming in the next two weeks that I can't talk about yet. We're trying to offer more products that hopefully more customers can enjoy. Question: Anything else you'd like to share? Keung: Another significant impact of AB 1228 is our ability to continue supporting the local community. In the past, we always held fundraiser events for local cops, sheriffs, and teachers. But one of the biggest challenges this year has been supporting more local charities and fundraisers in terms of monetary donations. That's something we've had to step back from. I also want to talk about what McDonald's franchises do and what they are. There's a misconception that McDonald's in Southern California is a large corporation. But what people don't see is that these are family businesses. There are 635 franchise restaurants in Southern California, operated by 90 individual owner-operated organizations that are all family-owned and operated for generations. My family has been here since we started our first restaurant in 2004, but there are multi-generational families in Southern California that invest in local communities and are great partners. With the changes last year, it's just more challenging to support the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New study claims ‘significant' job losses since California's fast-food minimum wage increase
New research published by Pepperdine University is attempting to settle the debate over whether boosting the minimum wage for fast-food workers in California to $20 an hour has cost jobs. The study, released on April 1 to coincide with the one-year anniversary of AB 1228, says the sector has seen a 'significant' decline of over 23,100 jobs. At the same time, fast-food employment grew by 0.8% nationwide, researchers said. 'This new data should be a wake-up call for policymakers,' said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, a private research group that partnered with Pepperdine's School of Public Policy. 'The employment losses in California's fast-food industry are now evident, and they confirm what many had warned about: Drastic wage hikes create real economic consequences, especially for entry-level workers.' The study's authors argue that raising the minimum wage could negatively impact more than just employment; it could also affect business sustainability, employee work hours and benefits. They recommend the state's Fast Food Council pause any new regulations, including another proposed wage increase, until 'unbiased, comprehensive research is conducted.' 'Please, sir, I want some more,' says California fast food workers' union Since its inception, the impact of AB 1228, which increased the minimum wage for workers at large fast-food chains by $4 per hour, or 25%, has been a hotly debated topic. Industry groups have consistently sparred with Gov. Gavin Newsom's office over how to interpret the jobs data. Both sides accuse the other of having inherent biases, and some previous studies showing significant fast-food job losses in California have, indeed, been retracted. Citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the governor's office told KTLA on Monday that average weekly wages in California's fast-food sector have increased by 12.9% year over year. Tom Manzo, founder of the California Business and Industrial Alliance and a fierce critic of AB 1228, isn't convinced. '(The Pepperdine University) report is just the latest confirmation that Governor Newsom's misguided fast-food minimum wage law is killing jobs across California,' Manzo said. 'When will enough be enough? Instead of spending time launching a new podcast, our Governor should be focused on fixing his mistake for the sake of small business owners and their employees.' Two outcomes of AB 1228, however, are less ambiguous. First, increasing the minimum wage to $20 per hour has helped hundreds of thousands of fast-food workers in the Golden State make ends meet. Franchise owners say it has also helped with recruiting and retention. The other outcome is that customers are paying more for their burgers, chicken strips, French fries and tacos than before. Many fast-food chains began raising prices when AB 1228 was signed into law and continued to do so after it took effect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
