FELS Newsletter: June 2023
Advances for Farms, Workers Blocked by a 1977 Rule
An autonomous tractor that requires no driver on board is equipped to work in vineyards. But its use clashes with a 1970s order requiring an operator at the vehicular controls. California’s high concentration of tech inventors and engineers, venture capital firms, and farmers are only beginning to imagine the ways autonomous technology can bring new […]
Supreme Court Rules Unions May Be Sued for Strike Damage to Employer Property
Fiona W. Ong, Shaw Rosenthal, LLP (Editor’s Note: The FELS website and FELS Newsletter have recently published several articles dealing with opinions issued by the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and decisions by the NLRB itself. We do this because the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board must follow applicable NLRB precedent. Given anticipated […]
Reimbursing Employees for Use of Personal Mobile Devices
Ag employers in California should be aware they must reimburse employees for necessary expenses they experience in the course of their employment per Labor Code section 2802: An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her […]
Minimum Wage of Localities Increasing on July 1
While California’s minimum wage escalated to $15.50 per hour on Jan. 1 (see “CA MW Rises to $15.50/Hour, Ag OT Threshold Drops for Small Employers on Jan. 1;” FELS Newsletter; Dec. 2022), several counties and cities are set to impose minimum wage standards greater than the statewide standard. While farmers generally don’t farm in urban areas […]
PTO for PSL: You Can Do That!
The California Legislature’s consideration of Senate Bill 616 (Gonzalez), expanding the paid sick leave (PSL) mandate, has prompted calls to FELS’ Sacramento office asking about compliance options in the event it passes and is signed by the governor. SB 616 expands the PSL mandate first imposed by Assembly Bill 1522 back in 2014. It increases […]
