Not quite. Prior to being enacted and signed into law last year on July 4, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was touted for its provisions calling for “No Tax on Tips” and “No Tax on Overtime,” but these tax benefits are not as sweeping as they sound. This article focuses on the parameters of the overtime pay tax deduction in particular.
Eligible employees are able to claim the tax deduction on their federal tax returns beginning this tax season for tax year 2025,
Keep readingAs we ring in the new year, new laws in California take effect, including some that may be relevant to you. Know your rights!
Minimum Wage Increases
January 1, 2026, brought the general minimum wage in California to $16.90 per hour. For health care workers in hospitals and clinics the minimum wage increases to $25 in July 2026.
ABC test applies to Drivers as Independent Contractors
SB 809 confirms that ownership of a vehicle (e.g.
Keep readingIn April, President Trump issued an executive order instructing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to start enforcing English language requirements for drivers by imposing English Language Proficiency (ELP) tests and taking drivers out of service if they fail these tests.
The executive order directed FMCSA to act within 60 days and FMCSA has prepared its regulations and started enforcement.
FMCSA data for June and July shows that the FMSCA is aggressively language testing and has begun taking drivers who fail the test off the road.
Keep readingCalifornia has enacted two new laws enhancing the State’s protection of “whistleblowers.”
California has long protected employee “whistleblowers” from retaliation, including discipline or discharge or other “adverse employment actions.” Under California law an employee is a “whistleblower” if they:
Disclose information to a government/law enforcement agency, or to a person with authority over the employee or with authority to investigate and correct a violation, and
Have reasonable cause to believe that the information they are disclosing is,
Keep readingDevastating wildfires in Southern California and a tsunami warning in the Bay Area are recent reminders that Teamsters should know their rights at work in an emergency.
In 2022, the Workers’ Rights in Emergencies Act became law in California, defining an “emergency condition” as caused by either a natural disaster or a criminal act:
“Conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons or property at the workplace or worksite caused by natural forces or a criminal act” or “an order to evacuate a workplace,
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Shubhangi Domokos, shubhangi@nullcalaborfed.org
Billionaires want to take away workers’ right to organize. AB 288 protects it.
California bill would create a state right to organize when the federal agency is unable to act to protect workers’ rights.
Sacramento, CA – (Wednesday, April 2, 2025) – Today, California lawmakers took the first step toward a state right to organize in direct defiance of the corporate attack on workers’ rights.
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On January 10, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters Local 174. The outcome of this case may change whether and when labor unions will engage in strikes or work stoppages.
The case involves Teamsters Local 174 in Seattle which represents ready-mix cement drivers employed by Glacier Northwest. Local 174 initiated a work stoppage after contract negotiations broke down and the drivers’ contract had expired.
Keep readingWhile California still has thousands of new COVID cases each day, the law requiring special paid time-off for COVID is set to expire on September 30, 2022. This article discusses the state of the law with regard to paid COVID leave and the new vaccines.
Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
In California, employers of 26 employees or more are required to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave to full-time employees who are unable to work (or telework) because of symptoms of COVID-19 or a COVID-19 vaccine,
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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reported that union election petitions have increased by 57% during the first half of Fiscal Year 2022 (October 2021 – March 2022). From October 2020 to March 2021, there were only 748 election petitions. As of March 31, 2022, there were 1,174 election petitions filed with the NLRB. If this trend in union election petitions continues through the rest of the year, it will be the highest annual total of election petitions filed in the last ten years.
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Now that the courts have blocked the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing requirements for employers of 100 or more employees and for federal contractor employers, and now that California has largely removed its masking requirements, is masking and/or proof of vaccination finally a thing of the past? This article explains where masking or vaccinations may continue to be part of the California workplace.
California law continues to require masks for workers in public transit,
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