Brewer v. Premier Golf Properties
December 2008

"Punitive damages are not recoverable when liability is premised solely on the employer's violation of the Labor Code statutes that regulate meal and rest breaks, pay stubs, and minimum wage laws." Brewer v. Premier Golf Properties (California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District) was decided on December 3, 2008. For further information, you can find the case at Court Opinion

ADA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008
December 2008

President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 making important changes to the definition of the term "disability." The Act is effective as of January 1, 2009. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has posted a summary of those changes at: ADA Amendments

A.B. 2181 CHANGES THE WAY OCCUPATIONAL INJURY
December 2008

The new method for reporting occupational injury or illness requires a different form and an electronic filing to the Division of Workers' Compensation.

For more detail read Assembly Bill 2181 Click Here

Access information about the California Workers' Compensation Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS)and forms list Click Here

A.B. 2654 ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS
December 2008

A.B. 2654 updates various provisions in different codes dealing with discrimination in contracting, insurance, workers compensation, court-appointed child advocacy, and prepaid health plans to ensure that proper reference is made to the classes protected under the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code), or to Section 11135 of the Government Code which prohibits discrimination in state-funded programs and activities based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, sex (including gender identity), marital status, and sexual orientation), or to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Section 12926.1 of the Government Code). Thus, this bill harmonizes and makes consistent these anti-discrimination statutes spread across various state codes. In doing so, this bill expands the protected classes in some statutes to encompass those recently added to the Unruh Civil Rights Act or to Sections 11135 and 12926.1 of the Government Code. To read the actual bill, Click Here

IRS ANNOUNCES 2009 STANDARD MILEAGE RATES
December 2008

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2009 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 55 cents per mile for business miles driven 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations The new rates for business, medical and moving purposes are slightly lower than rates for the second half of 2008 that were raised by a special adjustment mid-year in response to a spike in gasoline prices. The rate for charitable purposes is set by law and is unchanged from 2008. For the complete document, Click Here

DOL PUBLISHES FINAL REVISIONS TO FMLA REGULATIONS
December 2008

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor document provides the text of final regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (``FMLA''), the law that provides eligible employees who work for covered employers the right to take job-protected, unpaid leave for absences due to the birth of the employee's son or daughter and to care for the newborn child; because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care; in order to care for a son, daughter, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition; or because of the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her job.

The final regulations also address new military family leave entitlements included in amendments to the FMLA enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008, which provide additional job-protected leave rights to eligible employees of covered employers who provide care for covered service members with a serious injury or illness and because of qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that a covered military member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These rules are effective on January 16, 2009.
Click Here to link to the full PDF document from the U.S. Department of Labor.