Laborsphere

Updated Guidance Released for SB 1162 – California’s New 2023 Pay Data Reporting Requirement for Workers Provided by Third Parties

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) released amended FAQs providing guidance on compliance with the new pay data reporting requirements. PDR FAQs – 2022 Reporting Year | CRD (ca.gov) As previously reported here and here, Senate Bill 1162 amended Labor Code section 432.3 and Government Code section 12999 as part of California’s ongoing efforts to promote workplace pay transparency as a means to combat pay discrimination. Companies need to act now to be prepared to comply with the obligation to not only report data for their W-2 employees, but also the new obligation to compile and report data for workers supplied by staffing agencies and other third parties that are either working at, or assigned to, any California locations. This blog discusses the CRD guidance regarding this significant new development, together with takeaways for compliance.

What is the New Deadline to Submit Pay Data Reports under Senate Bill 1162?

The reporting deadline has been pushed back from March 31 to May 10, 2023. The FAQs have a link to the online portal and templates that employers can use to create their reports. Additional resources will continue to come online for employers.

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Update: Michigan Court of Appeals Restores More Employer-Friendly Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Time Laws

On January 26, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the Michigan Court of Claims and held the “adopt-and-amend” strategy the Michigan Legislature used in 2019 to enact minimum wage and paid sick time laws was not unconstitutional. According to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Legislature may amend a voter-initiated law just as it may amend any other law. As a result, for the time being, employers may comply with the MPMLA and do not need to start complying with the ESTA effective February 20, 2023, unless a further appeal is filed, and the Michigan Supreme Court reverses the Michigan Court of Appeals or the Michigan Legislature passes new laws similar to the voter-initiated laws.

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OFCCP Releases 2023 Pre-Audit Corporate Scheduling Announcement List

On January 20, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released its 2023 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL), which notifies 500 supply and service establishments (locations) of upcoming audits. Federal contractors should immediately review the 2023 CSAL because it serves as the only advance notification to contractors of upcoming audits.

The CSAL specifies the type of audit the contractor will undergo: Full Compliance Review (Establishment Review), Corporate Management Compliance Evaluation (CMCE) or Functional Affirmative Action Program (FAAP) Review.

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USCIS Announces Expansion of Premium Processing

While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made clear that it would not be increasing the $2,500 premium processing fee in its latest round of proposed fee increases, the agency announced on January 12 its final phase of premium processing expansion for EB-1 and EB-2 Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers.

Beginning January 30, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for all EB-1 multinational executive and manager petitions and all EB-2 national interest waiver (NIW) petitions. Notably, unlike previous phases of premium processing expansion, this phase applies to all petitions, both new (initial) and previously filed (pending) under the EB-1 multinational executive and manager petitions and all EB-2 NIW categories.

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USCIS Proposes Rule to Increase Certain Immigration Fees

Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposing to increase the filing fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests, with employment-based petitions undoubtedly seeing the greatest increase across the board.

USCIS hosted a public engagement session on the proposed fee rule on January 11, in which Director Ur M. Jaddou emphasized that fees have remained unchanged since 2016 and cited several reasons for the fee increases: covering higher costs due to inflation, avoiding any future backlogs, improving the use of technology, improving customer service, and reducing processing time. She further noted that USCIS is making a conscious decision to limit the naturalization application fee increase to less than 5% in an ongoing effort to encourage legal permanent residents to pursue naturalization and that USCIS intends to expand fee waiver categories. The proposed rule would generate an additional $1.9 billion in fee-based revenue per year for USCIS, with the intended net result of minimally increasing fees for approximately one million filers each year. However, for employers who routinely sponsor nonimmigrant and immigrant workers, the increased fees pose a significant cost.

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Denver Revises Municipal Code to Increase Civil Penalties Related to Wage Theft Violations and Expands “Up the Chain” Liability

On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock signed Bill 22-1614 after it passed the Denver City Council the previous day by unanimous vote. With the Bill’s passage comes increased penalties and new requirements related to wage theft, specifically including joint liability for general contractors, effective upon publication.

Denver’s minimum wage ordinance imposes a current minimum wage of $17.29 per hour, and before Bill 22-1614 passed, the ordinance provided certain penalties for employers that did not pay their workers based on the designated minimum wage. Indeed, prior to the bill’s passing, Denver’s minimum wage ordinance allowed employees to file complaints to the City Auditor within one year of a violation and provided a private right of action for three years to employees to seek to recover unpaid wages plus 12% interest, $100 for each day the violation continued, and liquidated damages three times the amount of unpaid wages.

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