2008 Woodie Awards
New laws for 2008
Ashley Mackin
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
Here is a list of California laws that went into effect Jan. 1, 2008.
- In California, minimum wage was increased to $8 an hour
- In California, it is illegal to smoke in a car with a child under the age of 18 also inside, whether the car is moving or not.
- In California, it is now illegal for businesses to inject their employees with microchips.
- Senate Bill 190, also known as the Higher Education Governance Accountability Act, brings major reforms to the University of California (UC) and the California State University systems. Among the reforms is a requirement that all executive compensation packages be voted on in an open session of a subcommittee and the full governing board. The UC and CSU will also be required to fully disclose compensation packages with accompanying rationale, and must now allow public comment on the specific action item.
- Assembly Bill 1168 protects against the public disclosure of social security information held in a public record.
- The following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you on an airplane in case the battery in a device runs low: Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries. People may not pack a spare lithium battery in checked baggage. People may bring spare lithium batteries with them in carry-on baggage.
- According to Senate Bill 929, the law exempts a computer professional from overtime requirements if the employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative. This bill lowered the hourly minimum compensation from $41 to $36, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The rate for 2009 will be set by Oct. 1, 2008 by the Department of Industrial Relations.
- In Assembly Bill 650, California employers who are required to provide unemployment insurance must notify all employees that they may be eligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) within one week before or after, or at the same time, the employer provides an annual wage summary including but not limited to a Form W-2 or Form 1099.
- Assembly Bill 338 changes how temporary disability (TD) is paid to injured workers. Under current law, an injured worker can receive 104 weeks of TD benefits. However, those benefits have to be paid within 104 weeks of the first date that temporary disability is paid.
- However, one law that will not go into effect until July 1, 2008, is the ban on the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. For drivers under the age of 18, the prohibition extends even to hands-free use of cell phones.
- In California, minimum wage was increased to $8 an hour
- In California, it is illegal to smoke in a car with a child under the age of 18 also inside, whether the car is moving or not.
- In California, it is now illegal for businesses to inject their employees with microchips.
- Senate Bill 190, also known as the Higher Education Governance Accountability Act, brings major reforms to the University of California (UC) and the California State University systems. Among the reforms is a requirement that all executive compensation packages be voted on in an open session of a subcommittee and the full governing board. The UC and CSU will also be required to fully disclose compensation packages with accompanying rationale, and must now allow public comment on the specific action item.
- Assembly Bill 1168 protects against the public disclosure of social security information held in a public record.
- The following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you on an airplane in case the battery in a device runs low: Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries. People may not pack a spare lithium battery in checked baggage. People may bring spare lithium batteries with them in carry-on baggage.
- According to Senate Bill 929, the law exempts a computer professional from overtime requirements if the employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative. This bill lowered the hourly minimum compensation from $41 to $36, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The rate for 2009 will be set by Oct. 1, 2008 by the Department of Industrial Relations.
- In Assembly Bill 650, California employers who are required to provide unemployment insurance must notify all employees that they may be eligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) within one week before or after, or at the same time, the employer provides an annual wage summary including but not limited to a Form W-2 or Form 1099.
- Assembly Bill 338 changes how temporary disability (TD) is paid to injured workers. Under current law, an injured worker can receive 104 weeks of TD benefits. However, those benefits have to be paid within 104 weeks of the first date that temporary disability is paid.
- However, one law that will not go into effect until July 1, 2008, is the ban on the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. For drivers under the age of 18, the prohibition extends even to hands-free use of cell phones.
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