Employers in California are permitted to enact mandatory policies relating to dress codes and they must be reasonable so as not to burden employees or violate their freedoms.

When is an employer allowed to require a dress code?

Employers ca require that the employees wear work uniforms if the employees don’t have to buy the uniforms. Supplying the uniforms is the responsibility of the employer and frees the employees of the burden of having to look for matching colors to wear to work.

The dress code, however, should not veer off into discriminatory territories or affect an employee’s religious freedoms but rather uphold their right to come to work dressed neatly. The California employers can also enact grooming policies and reasonable dress codes which are based on their legitimate business needs and financial goals. Policies may be enacted to prohibit certain kinds of wear for men but allow for women to wear adornments like earrings.

Who enforces these dress code guidelines?

There is a commission that is tasked with the responsibility of enacting and enforcing these regulations known as the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission and its main task is shielding employers from unfair and discriminatory employment practices. This commission prohibits the employers from enacting dress codes and policies which might have a discriminatory effect against employees based on the equal employment opportunity laws.

The dress codes should also not be in way of a peaceful working environment or promote sexual harassment behaviors, something the dress code rule is keen on enforcing. According to the law, certain kinds of revealing clothes are not allowed by employers and even sexually suggestive clothing is disallowed unless it has a legitimate financial reason to enact the policy. Additionally, the rules require employers to allow for cross-dressing employees to follow dress codes that are assigned to opposite-sex employees.

Conclusion

Whenever the employer asks for a uniform to be worn at work, they are additionally expected to provide the necessary apparel in accordance with their specifications. The dress codes will impact the working environment and how the employees are able to relate to one another. This dress code and a strict standard of dressing also tend to have a significant impact on a brands image which is ingrained in the work culture. An employer that has uniforms for workers is also required to pay for the uniform and not take it out of their employees’ pay package. In this way, there will be an equal opportunity for all and the uniforms will be useful for an organization during work hours.

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California teens join the workforce every year in the form of summer jobs and part-time employment. These teens usually are uninformed of the dangers they may be exposing themselves to at their places of work or even their rights as employees.

Employee Rights

To ensure teens joining the labor force in California are well informed of their rights, two organizations are concerned with providing education and resources to these young workers, the California Department of Industrial Relations, and California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation. DIR and CHSWC ensure young workers are aware of their rights as teens, about workplace health and safety and how to stay safe from work-related hazards.

As new entrants into the workforce, teens need to be informed on how they can adhere to safe work practices to avoid loss of wage and work time. With education on safety practices, teen workers would also be less likely to become permanently disabled as a result of an accident at work. Disability would result in their future career goals being altered. As a young workers’ program initiative, the commitment of DIR and CHSWC is in ensuring teens work in the safest environments that do not subject them to unnecessary dangers.

Employee Resources

To further help teens work safely, another division of DIR, Cal/OSHA, provides teens with information concerning health and safety requirements at the workplace. The organization assesses work situations and offers advice or recommendations on what to be done to prevent work-related accidents from occurring.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, another arm of DIR, also offers information concerning employment rights. DLSE enforces California Labor Code on child labor. Child labor laws in California require that young workers of high school age have work permits. The law further requires that the work permits be obtained by coordination with their respective schools. DLSE also investigates cases where teens are reported to be engaged in unsafe and unlawful work conditions.

Employee Protection

To ensure proper work conditions, and that young workers are protected from unsafe and illegal work environments, DIR and CHSWC liaise with government agencies and key organizations in the state of California that represent parents, employers, and educators. Together with these organizations, DIR conducts and sponsor educational fairs, contests, and workshops aimed at encouraging youths to involve themselves in learning about workplace health and safety.

Ensuring teens remain safe at the workplace starts with educating and encouraging them to seek for information on workplace safety requirements. The youth need to be aware of the many channels of information available and take advantage of the many educational resources that are geared towards ensuring they’re safe at work. Educating teens on work safety rules also allows them to observe safe work practices as well as know their rights as teen workers.

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In order to underpay their workers, some employers in certain industries in California pay their workers piece-rate compensation instead of an hourly basis. Moreover, until the recent changes in Californian law, the employees were not aware of the fact that they are paid their due wages. Brief information about piece-rate compensation law of California is provided here under to know whether your employer owes you some wages.

Who is a piece-rate employee?

An employee who is paid on the basis of his/her measurable completed work instead of the time spent at the workplace is a piece-rate employee. It can be tricky to determine a piece-rate employee as piece-rate compensation is applicable in many situations like:

Nurses paid on the number of performed procedures, auto mechanic on a rate based on the Chilton manual, technicians paid on the number of installed units, carpenters paid by footage of framing job or yards of carpet laid, and factory workers paid on the number of completed items are all good examples.

What is AB 1513?

On January 1st, 2016 a new section, AB 1513, has been effectively included in the piece-rate compensation law of California Labor Code. According to this section, it is necessary to submit wage and compensation statement by the piece-rate employees for their defense if their employer fails to pay compensation for nonproductive time or for the recovery or rest time which they deserve as per Californian law. The rate of compensation should be higher than the average hourly rate or minimum applicable wage rate.

Employees exempted from AB 1513

Under AB 1513, some employees are exempted to get additional compensation for non-productive time. These employees may include the workers working on a commission basis and paid on the basis of certain percentage of the sale.

Types of piece-rate compensations that come under AB 1513

Every claim under piece-rate compensation law is unique. You can file a claim against your employer to determine whether you are eligible for it or not. There are certain other eligibility conditions for the employees to file a claim under this law like:

• If your employers has classified you as commission based employee.
• If you are not compensated for valid non-productive time.
• If your employer neither allows you to take rest time even after working for more than 3.5 hours in a day nor pays for non-productive time
• If your employer does not compensate you for nonproductive time, excluding recovery and rest periods.
• If your employer retaliates against you for filing a claim for unpaid wages for nonproductive timeSo, according to AB 1513, the employees have legal right to contact an employment attorney if they are paid on piece-rate and not for non-productive time.

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