With each new year, new laws come to fruition from rulings and voting propositions of the previous year. Some of these new laws take several years to come into law because they need to be implemented in portions.

Expanding the minimum wage increase, made possible by the new laws, is going to aggressively change the California employment landscape. Not only are wages going to rise steeply over the next few years, but along with it, experts say costs of goods and services are going to skyrocket.

The enactment of the bill has two subset laws that will be going into place at different times. The two calendars increments are as follows: one for organizations with 25 or fewer employees and one for those with more than 25 workers. The state has posted a Fact Sheet in regards to the planned increments that employers can easily look up and learn more about to stay compliant.

Employee Restrooms

Starting March 1, 2017, organizations are disallowed from naming any “single-client bathroom office” as either “male” or “female.” AB 1732 characterizes “single-client can office” as “a can office without any than one water storeroom and one urinal with a locking system controlled by the client.”

Bosses must “illuminate every worker of his or her rights” upon contract and whenever from that point upon ask. The Labor Commissioner will build up a shape for these reasons and distribute it by July 1, 2017.

Getting Employee Information

The new laws restrict bosses from getting some information about or considering data identifying with captures, feelings, or different procedures that happened while a candidate or representative “was liable to the procedure and purview of juvenile court law.” Basically, if it happened while you were a minor, it is not to be taken into account during the hiring process or while employed with a company.

What would employers be able to do to prepare?

• Make beyond any reasonable doubt that HR staff, employing directors, and bosses comprehend the procedures before initiating them within the company or on any individual within the company.
• Stay up to date on the new laws for the upcoming years and put plans into action now that will allow them to stay ahead of them.
• Review pay practices to recognize potential incongruities in light of race and ethnicity, and gender. If disparities are noticed, fix them.
• Obtain and introduce proper signage for single-client restrooms to stay in accordance with the law.
• Ensure that applications don’t receive bias decisions based on the actions taken while the applicant was an adolescent.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Piotr Adamowicz

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For Businesses

A single user toilet is recognized by law as a toilet facility which has a single water closet and it has a single urinal. It should have a locking mechanism which is controlled by one user at a times as well.

All employers are required to check their signs for compliance. There are two major signs required for the identification purposes in the restroom.

They include the following:

The law requires the toilets to be marked by geometric signs. A circle will indicate the facility is intended for use by females. A triangle indicates the facility is for male and the circle superimposed by a triangle indicates the facility is intended for use by unisex.

The unisex symbol of a triangle superimposed in a circle is the only indicator emphasized by the law in California building code.

There should be a permanent wall mounted designation sign which identifies a toilet facility. The sign should be tactile hence allowing reading by touch. It should indicate the facility is a restroom and the restroom should be designated for either male or female gender.

It should be as well indicated if its use is meant for males, females, or is gender neutral. The signs require the use of pictures and symbols but the facility does not require us the of a picture to identify it. If you are not sure of the sign you should put up in your premises, then it is necessary for you to seek legal advice so that you can make the right decision in the process.

For Owners

If you have a business premises and you have a single user toilet with a gender neutral sign, then you don’t have to do anything further. If you have marked it as male or female but it is a single user, then you need to replace the sign with a unisex sign. The tactical sign has to indicate the facility is all gender, unisex or just indicate it is restroom without any sign in reference to gender.

Most businesses use pictures to indicate toilet facilities. These pictures should be used in compliance with the law so that you can indicate clearly whether the facility is for a male or a female.

If you are confused or unsure in any way, you should get legal advice so that you can know whether the symbol you have put up complies with the building codes and the law. It will potentially save you thousands in future lawsuits.

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