An increase in the minimum wage isn’t the only change in law that business owners must be aware of. There is other new legislation taking effect in 2008, although fewer than in years past. The new laws include: – Allowing pharmacists in the mercantile industry to adopt alternative work week schedules. – Reduction of the hourly rate for computer employees in order to maintain their overtime exemption requirements. – Adding the National Guard to the list of qualifying members in the Public Employees Retirement System. – Extending from two years to five years the time an employee may receive aggregate disability payments as a result of a workers’ compensation injury. – Requiring employers to notify employees they may be eligible for the federal earned income tax credit within one week of the date of providing a W-2 or 1099. In addition, starting in July all drivers must use a headset when using a cell phone in a moving vehicle. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed other legislation considered to be unfriendly to business. Those bills included fines for employers violating certain laws related to union lockouts; penalties for misclassifying employees as independent contractors; requiring employers to spend 7.5 percent of the payroll on health care; extending meal and rest period requirements to pool lifeguards and stage assistants; mandating employers to provide bereavement leave; and changing the laws regarding the time period for which an employer must maintain employee records.