California’s busy legislative 12 months has come to an finish, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a number of new legal guidelines that can influence Golden State employers. Right here, we summarize the legal guidelines anticipated to have the best influence on California employers in 2025.
Except in any other case famous under, these new legal guidelines take impact January 1, 2025.
SB 1137: Protected Traits: Intersectionality
On September 27, 2024, Governor Newsom signed SB 1137, making California the primary state to explicitly undertake the idea of intersectionality into its anti-discrimination legislation. Particularly, SB 1137 clarifies that the California Honest Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), amongst different legal guidelines, prohibits discrimination not simply on the premise of particular person protected traits, but in addition on the premise of the intersectionality of two or extra protected traits. Particularly, the amended legislation clarifies that the protected traits enumerated within the statute embrace a mixture of these traits. The Legislature defines intersectionality as “an analytical framework that units forth that totally different types of inequality function collectively, exacerbate one another, and may end up in amplified types of prejudice and hurt.” Additional, the Legislature acknowledged:
[W]right here two or extra bases for discrimination or harassment exist, they can’t be neatly diminished to distinct elements. The try to bisect an individual’s id on the mixture of a number of protected traits typically distorts or ignores the actual nature of their experiences. When an individual claims a number of bases for discrimination or harassment, it could be obligatory to find out whether or not the discrimination or harassment occurred on the premise of a mixture of these components, not simply primarily based on anybody protected attribute by itself.
Notably, the U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee’s interpretive steerage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already acknowledges related safety referring to discrimination and harassment.
SB399– “Captive Conferences” Ban
Additionally signed on September 27, 2024, SB 399 prohibits an employer from subjecting or threatening to topic an worker to an adversarial employment motion as a result of the worker declines to attend an employer-sponsored obligatory assembly discussing an employer’s opinion about non secular or political issues, which embrace union and anti-union discussions. This invoice additionally requires an employer to proceed to pay an worker who refuses to attend such a gathering and imposes a civil penalty of $500 per worker for every violation. We mentioned SB399 in a previous weblog submit.
In enacting SB 399, California joins a rising variety of states which have enacted captive viewers assembly bans in the previous couple of years. For instance, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon every have related captive viewers bans on the books. Most not too long ago, Washington, Illinois, and Vermont handed legal guidelines in 2024. With that mentioned, opponents of captive viewers legal guidelines have raised considerations that these bans impede employer free speech rights and are preempted by the Nationwide Labor Relations Act. We will probably be intently following these challenges and can present updates as they come up, however for now, California employers ought to seek the advice of with their counsel to make sure compliance with this new legislation. As well as, they need to think about updating firm insurance policies and coaching supervisors in regards to the limits pertaining to such conferences. If employers want to maintain conferences that could be construed as violating this legislation, they need to emphasize the voluntary nature of the assembly and think about having staff formally acknowledge the identical.
SB 1100 – Discrimination: Driver’s License
On September 28, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Senate Invoice 1100, which makes it illegal for an employer to incorporate an announcement in numerous employment supplies that an applicant will need to have a driver’s license until the employer moderately expects the duties of the place to require driving and the employer moderately believes that satisfying that job perform utilizing another type of transportation, equivalent to strolling, biking, carpooling, or utilizing a taxi or trip sharing service wouldn’t be comparable in journey time or value to the employer.
Employers ought to assessment their job necessities and postings to make sure they don’t run afoul of this new legislation.
AB 2499: Time Off for Victims of Violence
On September 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 2499, amending California legal guidelines prohibiting discrimination on the premise of an worker’s standing as a sufferer of crime or abuse, as a member of a jury, or as an individual convicted of sure crimes. Particularly, AB 2499 makes the next modifications to present legislation:
- Revises and recasts the jury, courtroom, and sufferer time without work provisions for workers as illegal employment practices inside the FEHA and, thus, inside the enforcement authority of the California Civil Rights Division.
- Revises present definitions for its functions, together with defining “sufferer” as a person towards whom a qualifying act of violence is dedicated.
- Defines a “qualifying act of violence” as home violence, sexual assault, stalking, and acts, conduct or patterns of conduct that embrace any of the next:
- A person inflicting bodily damage or loss of life to a different particular person.
- A person exhibiting, drawing, brandishing or utilizing a firearm or different harmful weapon with respect to a different particular person.
- A person utilizing or making a fairly perceived or precise risk to make use of pressure towards one other particular person to trigger bodily damage or loss of life.
- Prohibits an employer with 25 or extra staff from discharging or in any method discriminating or retaliating towards an worker who’s a sufferer or who has a member of the family who’s a sufferer for taking time without work work for any of quite a few recognized functions referring to a qualifying act of violence.
- Permits an employer to restrict the whole depart taken pursuant to those provisions, as specified, and require that depart taken by an worker pursuant to those provisions run concurrently with depart taken pursuant to the federal Household and Medical Depart Act of 1993 and the California Household Rights Act if the worker would have been eligible for that depart.
- Expands the eligibility for affordable lodging to incorporate an worker who’s a sufferer or whose member of the family is a sufferer of a qualifying act of violence for the security of the worker whereas at work.
- Omits the reinstatement and reimbursement provisions included in present legislation.
- Requires an employer to tell every worker of their rights beneath the legislation, to be offered to new staff upon rent, to all staff yearly, at any time upon request, and any time an worker informs an employer that the worker or the worker’s member of the family is a sufferer.
- Requires the California Civil Rights Division to develop and submit, on or earlier than July 1, 2025, a type that an employer could use to adjust to the legislation’s posting discover requirement and makes quite a few conforming modifications to implement these provisions.
- Expands the paid sick depart requirement beneath the Wholesome Workplaces, Wholesome Households Act of 2014 to incorporate the extra functions for which the legislation would prohibit an employer from discharging, or in any method discriminating or retaliating towards, the worker, as specified.
We encourage California employers to assessment and replace their depart insurance policies to make sure compliance with these amendments.
AB 2123 – Amendments to Paid Household Depart
On September 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed a big change to the state’s Paid Household Depart (PFL) program. Chief among the many modifications for employers is the elimination of an employers’ means to require staff to make use of as much as two weeks of trip time earlier than accessing PFL advantages.
Beneath the earlier PFL framework, employers may require staff to make use of their earned trip time earlier than tapping into state-provided PFL advantages. This observe has allowed employers to handle prolonged absences and doubtlessly cut back the state’s profit payout interval. Nevertheless, AB 2123 removes this selection.
Though this modification could seem to be a loss for employers, companies now could have extra leeway in how they construction their depart insurance policies and handle profit contributions throughout worker absences. For example, employers can encourage staff to make use of trip pay to “high off” their PFL advantages, doubtlessly simplifying the method of amassing worker contributions for ongoing advantages like medical health insurance.
Because the implementation date approaches, it’s crucial for employers to assessment and doubtlessly revise their depart insurance policies, PTO constructions, and profit contribution processes to align with the amendments and maximize any potential benefits which will now be obtainable.
SB 988 – “Freelance Employee Safety Act”
On September 28, 2024, Governor Newsom signed the “Freelance Employee Safety Act” (FWPA). This laws considerably expands the obligations of companies that interact unbiased contractors in California.
The FWPA applies to a variety {of professional} companies, together with however not restricted to advertising and marketing, graphic design, writing, and images. It covers contracts valued at $250 or extra, both individually or when aggregated over a 120-day interval. This broad scope signifies that many companies, no matter measurement or business, will probably be affected in the event that they often interact freelancers or unbiased contractors.
One of the essential necessities for companies beneath the FWPA is the mandate for written contracts. Contracts now should embrace particular particulars such because the scope of labor, compensation, and fee phrases. Companies should present a signed copy to the freelancer and retain their very own copy for not less than 4 years. Failure to offer a written contract for the contractor’s companies may end up in a further $1,000 penalty if the enterprise violates the FWPA by failing to pay the contractor.
The FWPA additionally imposes strict fee phrases. Companies should pay freelancers in line with the timeline specified within the contract or, if no date is specified, inside 30 days of completion of the contractor’s companies. Failure to adjust to these fee phrases may end up in important penalties, together with damages of as much as twice the unpaid quantity in addition to fee of the contractor’s legal professional’s charges. Moreover, the FWPA prohibits companies from retaliating towards freelancers who assert their rights beneath this legislation, including one other layer of compliance for hiring companies to contemplate.
To organize for the FWPA’s implementation, companies ought to take a number of proactive steps. These embrace reviewing and updating present freelancer agreements, coaching hiring managers and accounts payable employees on the brand new necessities, and doubtlessly updating inside techniques to make sure well timed funds and correct record-keeping.
AB 2299 – Whistleblower Protections Posting
On July 15, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 2299, which requires the California Labor Commissioner develop a standardized, mannequin listing of staff’ rights and obligations beneath whistleblower legal guidelines. This listing will probably be obtainable on the Labor Commissioner’s web site for employers to submit. Employers will probably be required to make sure the listing is posted in lettering bigger than 14-point sort. This new legislation doesn’t nonetheless add to or change present whistleblower protections.
Keep tuned for the discharge of the mannequin listing, and ensure to replace your office postings accordingly.
Los Angeles, County Imposes Vital Restrictions on Prison Background Checks
Though not a state-wide legislation, Los Angeles County’s new ordinance, the Honest Likelihood Ordinance for Employers (“FCOE”), which went into impact September 3, 2024, accommodates important necessities and restrictions for Los Angeles County employers that need to carry out prison historical past checks on candidates. The ordinance solely applies to employers with 5 or extra staff whose place of business is inside unincorporated components of Los Angeles County. Distant staff residing inside unincorporated components of Los Angeles County are additionally lined by this ordinance. Though there are some exceptions for positions the place background checks are required by legislation, the ordinance will influence a variety of companies and industries.
The FCOE prohibits lined employers from asking about an applicant’s prison historical past previous to extending a conditional provide of employment. Though the FCOE covers a lot of the identical floor that California’s state-wide Honest Likelihood Act covers, it’s extra stringent in a number of methods. For instance, it requires an employer to conduct a two-step evaluation course of, which have to be achieved in writing, to take adversarial motion primarily based on prison historical past. Particularly, step one, the Preliminary Individualized Evaluation, should happen after a conditional job provide and receipt of the applicant’s prison historical past. On this evaluation, the employer should consider whether or not the applicant’s prison historical past immediately, adversely, and negatively impacts the applicant’s means to carry out the required job duties. Elements to contemplate embrace the character and gravity of the offense, the passage of time because the offense or sentence completion, the character of the job, and any voluntarily offered proof of rehabilitation. If the employer intends to take adversarial motion primarily based on the Preliminary Individualized Evaluation, it should present a Preliminary Discover of Opposed Motion to the applicant. The applicant then has not less than 5 enterprise days (with a possible extension to 10 days) to reply with further data or proof. This results in the second step: the Second Individualized Evaluation. On this part, the employer should rethink their resolution in mild of any new data offered by the applicant. This evaluation considers all components from the Preliminary Individualized Evaluation, plus any proof difficult the accuracy of the prison historical past report, further proof of rehabilitation or mitigating circumstances, and every other related data or clarification from the applicant. Just like the Preliminary Individualized Evaluation, this should even be documented in writing. This ordinance additionally prohibits consideration of a broader vary of prison historical past (together with non-felony marijuana convictions over two years previous and most convictions over seven years previous). The county ordinance additionally imposes stricter penalties for violations, with fines as much as $20,000 per aggrieved applicant for employers who’re repeat offenders. It moreover requires employers to retain hiring data for 4 years and features a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if adversarial motion is taken inside 90 days of an applicant exercising their rights beneath the ordinance.
Employers with staff in unincorporated Los Angeles County ought to put together within the following methods to make sure compliance with the FCOE:
- Evaluation and replace hiring practices, job functions, and interview procedures.
- Develop processes for conducting individualized assessments.
- Create templates for required notices to candidates.
- Practice hiring managers and HR employees on the brand new necessities.
- Set up record-keeping techniques to keep up compliance documentation.
As at all times, we can be found to offer steerage on finest practices to make sure compliance with these new necessities in California.