Olga Garcia and I, organized and attended the first chapter meeting of the year for the California Moving and Storage Association Northern Region. We met at local San Francisco bistro, Chez Marius in Noe Valley. We welcomed Conor J. Dale, principal attorney at San Francisco’s office of Jackson Lewis. Mr. Dale has recently joined the CMSA. He spoke to our group about recent changes in employment issues.
On the new state of California requirements regarding sexual harassment training, it is now a requirement that if you have five or more employees, they must receive a minimum of one hour training. This is for all employees, not only for supervisors as it had been in the past. Training materials may come from trade organizations, human resources agencies or attorneys. Mr. Dale can assist your company in providing this type of training. He said the State has promised materials free of charge so you can wait until those are available, but training must occur before the end of 2019.
In regards to independent contractors, the California Supreme Court has moved from a former ten step test, to an “A, B, C” method. Here is a link to an article that discusses the Dynamex case that Mr. Dale referred to in his talk, and a summary of what the ABC test means:
(A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;
(B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and
(C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.
Lastly, there has been changes to state minimum wage laws, and to keep in mind some cities have their own minimum wage as it is the case of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose. The state’s minimum wage is $11.00 We were also reminded that salaried/exempt employees are also affected when there are changes in minimum wage. This happens when the employer is going by the common formula of salary test, twice the state’s minimum wage multiplied by 2080 hours.
We are all proud as licensed movers, to be constantly learning so that we can serve our customers better and at the same time, meet or exceed the labor law requirements. We are grateful to Mr. Dale for making time out of his paternity leave to be with us. Congratulations on your new baby girl!
Fred Wallace of One Big Man One Big Truck encouraged Mr. Dale to attend our future meetings so that we may get to know him more and welcome him to the CMSA and to our chapter. He also made a call to action to those who attended the event to give Chez Marius Bistro a five-star review for their warm and efficient service and their delicious meals.
We want to thank the vendors and movers who attended the event. The big winner of the night was Kenny Ullmer of J & S Paper, he left with a box of wine bottles and adult drinks!
Thank you to A52 Signs, All American Auto, Champion Risk and Insurance Services, J & S Paper, New Haven Moving Equipment, Robison Oil and last but not least, to John Kay of Victory Packaging.
Save the date for our next and final chapter meeting before the CMSA convention! Date to be confirmed but we are looking at the week of March 18, 2019 in the Richmond, California area! More details to follow!
