CWS 3.0: October 8, 2014

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Legal Update: Calif. governor signs joint liability bill

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 28 signed into law a bill that imposes joint liability on buyers of staffing services for staffing firms’ wages and hours and workers’ compensation violations, as well as health and safety compliance.

The goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015. It applies to companies with 25 or more employees. Companies with fewer than 25 workers, companies that use no more than five contingent workers at any given time, homeowners and government agencies are exempted from the bill.

“This highlights the importance for buyers to select their staffing partner carefully and to conduct ongoing due diligence to minimize the risk of claims,” said Fiona Coombe, Staffing Industry Analysts’ director of legal and regulatory research. “It will also be important to both buyers and providers to establish good lines of communication so that claims may be handled quickly without allowing them to escalate.”