Employer Obligations under the Labor Code

There are a series of employer obligations contained in California’s Labor Code. Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 3 was enacted in 1937 by Chapter 90. Section 2800 requires an employer to indemnify their employees for losses caused by the employer’s want of ordinary care.

Section 2800.1 requires an employer to take reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard musical instruments and equipment, belonging to an employed musician, located on premises under the employer’s control. In the event the equipment is damaged or stolen as a result of the employer’s failure or refusal to take such reasonable and necessary precautions, the employer is liable to the owner for repair or replacement if the employed musician has taken reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard the musical instruments and equipment.

Section 2800.2 specifies that any employer, employee association, or other entity otherwise providing hospital, surgical, or major medical benefits to its employees or members is solely responsible for notification of its employees or members of the conversion coverage made available.

Section 2800.3 states that any employer, other than a self-insurer, employee association or other entity otherwise providing hospital, surgical or major medical benefits to its employees or members must make available conversion coverage which complies with applicable state laws.

Section 2801 provides that, in any action to recover damages for a personal injury sustained within this State by an employee while engaged in the line of his duty or the course of his employment, in which recovery is sought upon the ground of want of ordinary or reasonable care of the employer, the fact that the employee has been guilty of contributory negligence does not bar a recovery where the contributory negligence was slight and that of the employer was gross, in comparison.

Section 2802 requires an employer to indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful.

Section 2802.1 specifies that Section 2802 applies to any expense or cost of any employer-provided or employer-required educational program or training for an employee providing direct patient care or an applicant for direct patient care employment.

Section 2803 states that when death results from an injury to an employee caused by the want of ordinary or reasonable care of an employer, the personal representative of the employee has a right of action against the employer, and may recover damages for and on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, dependent parents, and dependent brothers and sisters, in order of precedence.

Section 2803.4 prohibits any employer providing health benefits under ERISA from providing an exception for other coverage where the other coverage is entitlement to Medi-Cal benefits. Section 2803.5 states that any employer who offers health care coverage, including employers and insurers, must comply with specified standards of state law.

Section 2804 specifies that any contract made by any employee to waive the benefits of this article or any part of it, is null and void. Section 2806 prohibits any public or private employers from discontinuing coverage for medical or health benefits for employees, unless the employer has notified and advised all covered employees in writing of any discontinuation of coverage.

Section 2807 requires all private and public employers to provide notification to former employees, along with the notification required by federal law, of the availability of continued coverage for medical, surgical, or hospital benefits. Section 2808 states that it is the responsibility of all employers to provide to all eligible employees an outline of coverage or similar explanation of all benefits provided under employer-sponsored health coverage.

Section 2808.1 requires the Department of Industrial Relations to post on its internet website information regarding abortion and contraception benefits or services that may be available at no cost. Section 2809 states that any public or private employer that offers its employees an employer-managed deferred compensation plan must provide to each employee, prior to the employee’s enrollment in the plan, written notice of the reasonably foreseeable financial risks accompanying participation in the plan, historical information to date, and other information.

Section 2810 prohibits a person or entity from entering into a contract for labor or services with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor, where the person or entity knows or should know that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws or regulations governing the labor or services to be provided.

Section 2810.3 defines the terms “client employer,” “labor,” “labor contractor,” “wages,” “worker,” and “usual course of business” It provides that a client employer is required to share with a labor contractor all civil legal responsibility and civil liability for all workers supplied by that labor contractor the payment of wages and any failure to secure workers’ compensation coverage. A pre-lawsuit notice must be filed against the client employer, and certain information must be provided by a client employer or labor contractor.

Section 2810.4 defines the terms “commercial driver,” “customer,” “Internet webpage,” “labor,” “port drayage carrier,” “port,” “port drayage services,” “prior offender,” and “wages.” It required the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to post on its internet webpage the names, addresses, and essential information for a port drayage motor carrier with an unsatisfied final court judgment, tax assessment, or tax lien that may be released to the public under federal and state disclosure laws.

Section 2810.5 specifies that, at the time of hiring, an employer must provide to each employee a written notice, in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee, containing specified information. The Labor Commissioner is required to prepare templates for the required notices. Also, the term “employee” does not include specified employees.

Section 2810.7 requires an employer to notify an employee who participates in a flexible spending account of any deadline to withdraw funds before the end of the plan year. Notice must be by two different forms, one of which may be electronic.

Section 2810.8 defines the terms “airport,” “airport hospitality operation,” “airport service provider,” “building service,” “employee,” “employer,” “enterprise,” “event center,” “hotel,” “laid-off employee,” “length of service,” “person,” and “private club.” It requires, within 5 business days of establishing a position, an employer to offer its laid-off employees in writing, either by hand or to their last known physical address, and by email and text message to the extent the employer possesses such information, all job positions that become available for which the laid-off employees are qualified.

A laid-off employee is qualified for a position if the employee held the same or similar position at the enterprise at the time of the employee’s most recent layoff with the employer. An employer is prohibited from refusing to employ, terminate, reduce in compensation, or otherwise take any adverse action against any laid-off employee for seeking to enforce their rights under this section. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce this section.