Final week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 399, referred to as “The California Employee Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act,” into regulation. Virtually talking, SB 399 was enacted to ban employers from requiring staff to attend obligatory anti-union conferences.
Efficient January 1, 2025, non-public and public employers in California are prohibited from subjecting (or threatening to topic) an worker “to discharge, discrimination, retaliation, or another antagonistic motion as a result of the worker declines to attend an employer-sponsored assembly or affirmatively declines to take part in, obtain, or hearken to any communications with the employer or its brokers or representatives, the aim of which is to speak the employer’s opinion about non secular or political issues.”
The regulation, which provides Part 1137 to the California Labor Code, units forth the next definitions for functions of defining the scope of the protections:
- “Political issues” means issues regarding elections for political workplace, political events, laws, regulation, and the choice to affix or assist any political celebration or, fairly notably, a labor group.
- “Non secular issues” means issues relating to spiritual affiliation and follow and the choice to affix or assist any non secular group or affiliation.
The Act could also be enforced by non-public court docket motion or by the California Labor Commissioner below Part 1137(e). Along with common damages and treatments, the next aid could also be granted in litigation, if a violation of the Act is discovered:
- Non permanent or everlasting injunctive aid.
- Punitive damages.
- A civil penalty of $500 per worker for every violation.
California is the newest and largest state to outlaw what is called “captive viewers” conferences about non secular and/or political issues. It joins Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Vermont.
Though the regulation will take impact in lower than three months, SB 399 will possible be subjected to court docket problem as being (a) in violation of employers’ free speech rights below the U.S. Structure, and (b) preempted by the Nationwide Labor Relations Act. There’s a severability clause within the Act, virtually as if the drafters expect challenges to the Act.
Whereas SB 399 nonetheless permits employers to carry anti-union conferences, they will’t power staff to point out up below menace of punishment – attendance should be voluntary. The identical goes for any assembly the place the employer communicates their opinions on “non secular or political issues.”
Although the regulation is being criticized by employer teams as overly broad, staff wouldn’t be permitted to make use of SB 399 to flee from obligatory harassment or inclusiveness coaching. Notably, since “Worker” means any particular person who performs companies for and below the management and route of an employer for wages or different remuneration, this may possible be utilized to managers conferences as nicely.
Employers ought to be looking out for authorized challenges or clarifications to the brand new regulation.