On tap: wage, training issues among employment laws ringing in 2008.

• Author: Terman, Mark E.
• Position: EMPLOYMENTLAW

Perhaps employers are becoming slightly less of a focus in the California Legislature as only 337 of the bills introduced in the 2006-07 legislative session mentioned "employer"--about 10 percent of all bills introduced and half as many as those introduced in the prior session.

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Still, here's what you should know and plan for in 2008.

INCREASED MINIMUM WAGE

California's minimum wage for non-exempt employees will increase from $7.50 to $8 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2008. Download the required workplace poster at www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/Minwage2007.pdf.

The increase will affect other wage and hour compliance issues.

For example, of the two tests used to determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime pay, the "salary basis test" requires payment of a salary that is twice minimum wage. To satisfy this test, the required annual salary will increase from $31,200 to $33,280 as of Jan. 1, 2008. The Legislature has not changed the law regarding the "duties test" for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Commissioned employees, to maintain overtime pay exempt status, must be paid 1.5 times minimum wage and more than half of their pay must be commission.

In addition, employers that require employees to supply and maintain their own hand tools must pay the employee at least twice minimum wage.

Where federal and state law both apply, the employee generally is entitled to the benefit of the law that most favors the employee. Federal minimum wage, which changed July 24, 2007, to $5.85 per hour and will phase up to $7.25 per hour by July 2009, is basically irrelevant in California because it lags behind the state's law. A new federal workplace poster, however, is required. Visit www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm.

OT EXEMPTION FOR COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS

California Labor Code Sec. 515.5 contains an overtime pay exemption for certain highly skilled computer professionals, those who spend more than 50 percent of their working time in top-level intellectual or creative work that requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment. Workers at this level often include software engineers, programmers, systems designers and analysts.

Effective Jan. 1, 2008, these employees must be paid at least $36 per hour to sustain the computer professional exemption, down from $49.77 per hour. Given that this lowers the annual full-time compensation of those eligible for exemption from more than $100,000 to nearly...