California Minority Counsel Program Presents PANELISTS: Frank Capetillo, Sr. Special Investigator, DIR, DLSE Amber M. Grayhorse, Senior Associate, Nossaman LLP Tim Lykowski, Sr. VP of Employment Litigation, Fox Group Legal Dept. MODERATED BY: Aundrea L. Smith, Associate, Sanchez & Amador LLP Hosted & Sponsored by The DLSE’s Growing Arsenal What Every Employer Needs to Know About the Wage Theft Protection Act and the DLSE’s Criminal Investigation Unit

2 What Will We Cover? 1.Wage Theft Protection Act’s Written Wage & Hour Notice to New Employees 2.DLSE’s Criminal Investigation Unit 2

3 1.At the time of hiring, an employer shall provide each employee a written notice, in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee, basic employment information 2.Labor Commissioner must have a template 3.Employer shall notify employees in writing of any changes to the information within 7 calendar days of the changes Wage & Hour Notice: Labor Code § (1/1/12)

4 1.All rates & basis (hourly, shift, daily, weekly, salary, commission, etc.) of pay, incl. O/T rates 2.Minimum wage allowances, if any, including meal and lodging allowances 3.Regular payday 4.Employer’s Legal Name, incl. “dba” names Wage Notice: What Must I Include?

5 5.Physical and mailing address of employer’s main office/principal place of business 6.Employer’s phone number 7.Contact info of employer’s W/C insurance carrier 8.Any other info Labor Commissioner deems material or necessary Wage Notice: What Must I Include?

6 Information re staffing agency Information re written agreements to providing the rate No longer have to try to respond to whether Employment Agreement is Oral or Written What does the DLSE Require as “Material & Necessary”?

7 All employers who “engage another... to do something for the benefit of the employer or a third person” in California. Best Practices: Any employer that has employees in California should provide notice to California employees Any employer in California should provide notice to all employees Including: Private employers Private schools Non-profit corporations (CMCP) Private sub-contractors Who Must Provide Wage Notices?

8 Exceptions: Public employees Exempt employees Most employees covered by collective bargaining agreements Who Must Provide Wage Notices?

9 At the time of hiring Hiring date vs. start date No later than the start date Best Practice: Give the Notice to existing employees if you haven’t already? When Must the Notice be Given?

10 Employers must notify employees in writing of any changes to the info in the Notice within 7 calendar days of the change Unless: All changes are reflected in timely wage statement Employer provides notice of changes in another writing required by law w/in 7 days Do I have to Update the Notice?

11 Notice must be given in language normally used to communicate employment related information Labor Commissioner has templates in six languages: What if my Employees Speak Different Languages? 1.English 2.Vietnamese 3.Chinese 4.Korean 5.Tagalog 6.Spanish

12 What Wage Notice Records Must I Maintain? Record of Notices provided Can be electronic Best Practices: Acknowledgement of Receipt But cannot require employees to sign Acknowledgement Maintain Acknowledgement for 4 years after termination

13 DLSE templates and FAQs: NoticeToEmployee.html NoticeToEmployee.html Not necessary to use template, but Notice must contain all info in DLSE’s template If you prepare your own Notice form, it must be a free standing form Wage Notice: What Else do I Need to Know?

14 Established Feb. 27, 2012 Designed to investigate employers who perpetrate wage theft and other criminal activities against workers Peace officers make investigations & arrests for L.C. violations Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU)

15 Arrest employers for violating Penal Codes and Labor Codes. Cite employers into criminal court for violating Labor codes and Penal Codes. File criminal charges with the district attorney’s office and other prosecutors (including city attorneys). Serve subpoenas. Obtain and serve inspection warrants. Obtain and serve search warrants. Obtain arrest warrants for employers. Conduct surveillance. What is CIU Doing?

16 Flagrant mistreatment of workers Not innocent violators W/C violations Theft of labor Payment of wages with bounced checks Unlicensed farm labor contractors/ Garment mfr’s Public works projects kickbacks Minor worker violations What is CIU’s Focus?

17 Increased enforcement efforts August 7, 2012: Joint DLSE/DOL Inspection of Garment Manufacturing Businesses, Downtown Los Angeles L.C. Julie Su is 1 st L.C. recognized as Top Labor & E/t Attorney in California Increased efforts to enforce citations Most common violations: 1.Failure to carry workers’ compensation 2.Failure to pay overtime compensation What Else do I Need to Know about the DLSE?

18 For any questions, please contact: Amber M. Grayhorse Aundrea L. Smith Thank you!