Alright my beloved readers – happy new year!

We made it.  It’s 2019.  Who would have thunk the world would still be here, let alone California workers’ comp.  Maybe next year Arnold Schwartzenneger will lead cyborg rebellion to wipe out humanity, or nearly so.  Maybe in 2020 Will Smith will get busy policing robots violating Asimov’s laws.

But as tomorrow morning will see the start of 2019, here’s what we have to deal with now.

California’s minimum wage, effective January 1, 2019, goes up to $11 (per hour) for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $12 for employers with 26 or more employees.  Bear in mind, dear readers, that your local cities or counties might have even higher minimum wage – San Mateo for example, where your humble blogger hangs his hat, is going up to $15 per hour!

This is up from a statewide minimum of $11/hr for 26+ employers and $10.50 for employers with fewer than 26 employees in 2018.

So, if you’re paying TD for an employee who was earning minimum wage, are you going to have to adjust to reflect that employee’s current earning capacity?  In our hearts, we know the answer should be no, but, realistically, you might need to recalculate your TD rate.

Speaking of TD, as the minimum and maximum rate is set by the State Average Weekly Wage for the prior year, the effective rate for 2019 saw a 2.971% increase.  The minimum rate will go up from $182.29 in 2018 to $187.71 in 2019, and a maximum of $1,251.38 for 2019 up from $1,215.27 in 2018.

And, of course, mileage reimbursement goes up from .545 cents per mile to .58 cents per mile.

Although not legislative in nature, California’s laws have been reshaped by some recent high-up court decisions which your humble blogger will revisit in the days to come.

In any case, dear readers, happy new year!