The following is a sampling of new laws affecting employers in 2003:

FEDERAL
Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Among other things, protects employees of publicly traded companies who provide information about possible security law violations, SEC violations, and violations of other shareholder fraud laws against retaliation.

HIPPA
New regulations protecting storage and transfer of personal healthcare information.

CA - THE AB'S
AB 749: Workers Comp
Increases weekly benefits (from $490 to $602 in 2003) and makes other administrative changes to how workers' comp system is administered. NOTE: new poster and pamphlet requirements.

AB 1068: Background Checks
Clarifies several issues created by last year's ICRAA.

AB 1401: COBRA Extension
Extends continuation coverage under COBRA and Cal-COBRA from 18 to 36 months.

AB 1599: Age Discrimination
Age discrimination protection now applies to employees of all ages, no longer just those over 40.

AB 2195: Victims of Sexual Assault
Extends protections (including right to take absences in certain circumstances) currently available to victims of domestic violence to victims of sexual assault.

AB 2412: Payroll Records
Requires employers to allow current and former employees to inspect or get copies of payroll records within 21 days of the request.

AB 2837: Safety
Creates new requirements and penalties for not making timely reports of serious workplace accidents or deaths.

AB 2895: Confidentiality of Information on Working Conditions
Employees may not be prevented from disclosing information on wages or any other conditions of employment.

AB 2957: California's "WARN" Act
Expands existing federal protections for employees and requirements for employers in situations involving mass layoffs, relocations, and terminations, including a mandatory 60 day advance notice to employees.

CA - THE SB'S
SB 1471: Kin Care
Prevents an employer from discriminating against an employee who uses "kin care" leave.

SB 1661: Temporary Family Disability Insurance
Funded through a new payroll tax that will go into effect on 1/1/2004, will provide up to 6 weeks of paid leave for someone who takes time off to care for a sick family member or to bond with a new child.

SB 1818: Undocumented Workers
Attempts to guarantee all employees equal employment rights regardless of immigration status.

Current Openings:

Medical Front Office:
Busy cosmetic dermatology office in Orange County seeks front office supervisor. Must have excellent interpersonal skills. Billing experience a plus. FT, excellent benefits. $14+/hr.

Office Administrator:
Accounting, Benefits, Financial planning firm in S. County seeks FT office administrator for help with QuickBooks, marketing, general office admin. $12-$18/hr. depending upon experience.

RN or PA:
Progressive Fashion Island medical spa seeks PT & FT entry level RNs or PAs. Will train. Excellent interpersonal skills and availability on Saturdays and evenings required. Interest in field of anti-aging and cosmetic improvements a plus.
PT: $20/hour FT: $42k plus benefits.

Are you interested in any of these positions?
Do you know someone else who might be a good fit?
Are you an employer with a staffing need?

Vantaggio's candidate referral service:
Designed to locate legitimate and viable candidates for our clients at affordable rates:

Retained Search - We invoice our clients on an hourly basis for the actual time spent developing a candidate profile and conducting a search based upon that profile. Costs of advertising are extra. Often the least expensive way to fill a position.

Contingency Search - We bear the cost for any time or expenses invested in conducting a search and charge our clients a flat 10% referral fee (minimum of $2,000). A great bargain compared to other search firms that charge 20 - 30% or more.

If interested, please give us a call at (949) 425-1262 or e-mail us at recruiting@VantaggioHR.com

IN THE COURTS...

Arbitration Agreements
Recent court cases have cleared the way for the enforceability of mandatory employee arbitration agreements in California. To put in place arbitration agreements with current or new employees, make sure to seek appropriate counsel. Call us for a consultation and for possible referral to a management labor attorney who will make sure your agreements are drafted in compliance with the 2000 guidelines from the California Supreme Court and more recent case law.

Non-Compete Agreements
Legal developments continue to make it increasingly difficult to enforce non-compete agreements for employees in California. In a recent decision, the courts threw out the concept of "inevitable disclosure," which argued that by the very nature of certain companies and industries, an employee could not go work for a competitor firm without inevitably disclosing his/her prior employer's trade secrets. The court found the doctrine incompatible with California law which prohibits an employer from preventing a departing employee from seeking gainful employment with the competition. Be very careful when drafting non-competes and confidentiality agreements - another case threw out the ability to use a severability clause to protect the remaining sections of an employment agreement if a portion is found to contain an inappropriate covenant not to compete. In conjunction with attorney Mark Klein ( kleinlaw@sbcglobal.net), Vantaggio HR has an excellent Non-Compete and Confidentiality Agreement that can be customized for use by non-technical employers needing a simple format to protect their company's trade secrets in a manner that will be easily understood by its employees and enforceable in the courts. Please call us for a quote.

Retaliation
Recent legal developments are making it easier and easier for employees to prevail with retaliation claims. To protect your company against possible costly complaints or litigation, make sure your supervisory staff is well trained in appropriate EEOC policies and procedures and knows exactly what to do in the event of a discrimination or harassment claim.

EMPLOYER ACTION ITEMS...

2003 Employment Posters
Clients on our monthly or annual retainer program can get up to 2 sets of posters from us at no charge. For others, we have poster sets available at a reduced price ($25 includes tax, shipping, and handling) due to our volume discount. Please contact Jillian in our offices at jcarver@VantaggioHR.com or (949) 425-1262 ext. 4 to place your order. DEADLINE is 1/15/03.

Handbook Updates
Contact us to do an annual review/update of your employee handbook to make sure it's in compliance with all of the new laws and regulations.



WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Join us for Vantaggio HR's
Annual Labor Law Update Seminar
Thursday, January 23rd, 7:45 am - 10:00 am. Center Club, Costa Mesa.
Cost: $50.
Guest speakers: Lauraine Bifulco, and attorney Mike Sullivan of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton.
Look for an invitation coming soon or rsvp to reservations@VantaggioHR.com

Lauraine Bifulco to chair Labor Committee for CSBA

Lauraine was recently asked to chair one of the 12 state-wide committees for the California Small Business Association, a volunteer, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide small businesses with a meaningful voice in state and federal government. Lauraine's labor issues committee will be responsible for reviewing and recommending on labor related legislation in 2003. If you are a small business owner and concerned about issues such as overtime, flextime, minimum wage, paid disability leave, and independent contractor classifications, please contact Lauraine at LBifulco@VantaggioHR.com.She would appreciate your input!