A new California law, Senate Bill 142 (“SB 142”), effective January 1, 2020, expands on existing Labor Code requirements for employee lactation accommodations and provides significant new consequences to employers for non-compliance. Under pre-existing law (Cal. Labor Code 1030 et seq.), employers were required to make reasonable efforts to provide a private location, other than
Disability and Leave
California Law Expanding CFRA Rights to Flight Crew Employees Closer to Enactment
The California Assembly has passed a bill that would expand the California Family Rights Acts to apply to flight crew employees. Assembly Bill 1748 (AB 1748) has passed through the assembly, and is awaiting the signature of Governor Gavin Newsom.
As the law currently stands, the often atypical work schedules of many flight deck and…
It’s Back to School Time—Which Means California School Activities Leave
It is back to school time for school children, which means that parents are more likely to request time off to attend to child care or other school activities. And in California—parents have leave entitlements which employers should be mindful of.
California Labor Code section 230.8 provides such time off for certain employees to participate…
San Francisco Employers May Have to Pay More in Paid Parental Leave Benefits in 2020
As Bay Area employers are well aware, San Francisco has several local employment-related ordinances that provide additional benefits to individuals performing work within the geographical boundaries of the City. One such benefit is paid parental leave.
Currently, employers who have 20 or more employees (located anywhere) are required to provide eligible San Francisco employees with…
California Extends Paid Family Leave from 6 Weeks to 8 Weeks
Beginning on July 1, 2020, California will extend the maximum duration of Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits from six weeks to eight weeks. Individuals may receive benefits from California’s state disability insurance (SDI) program:
- To care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner.
- To bond with a minor child
…
Will They or Won’t They: A Look at Some Significant Proposed California Legislation Relating to Leaves, Disability, and Other Protected Time Off
With May 31st 2019, marking the deadline for bills to be passed by their California house of origin, the following are some key pieces of employment legislation that may find their way to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk in October. Here is a round-up of potential 2020 legislation worth watching:
Please find the rest of this…
Disability Discrimination and Reasonable Accommodation under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) [1]
If your business has five or more employees, your business is one of the millions in California that has a duty to provide reasonable accommodations for its employees with known disabilities.
A duty to provide reasonable accommodation arises when the employer knows of the employee’s disability. While the employer undoubtedly becomes aware of the disability…
Paid Sick Leave Laws May Vary By City
By now, most employers should be aware of the California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Family Act which went into effect in 2015. Under California law, all employers (with very few exceptions), must allow employees to use up to 3 days or 24 hours of paid sick leave in a 12-month period. However, what many employers do…
Do I Have to Grant Leave for Employee Requests to Attend Their Children’s School Activities? Maybe in California
School children are back at school following winter break, and that may mean employee requests for time off for parent-teacher conferences, school assemblies, and more. While less known, California law has a collection of statutes affording parents protected time off. One of those protections is California Labor Code section 230.8, which provides parents, and other…
California State Disability Insurance (SDI) Increases
It’s a new year, and California SDI benefits will be increasing. The SDI withholding rate continues to be 1.0% of wages. But, the taxable wage limit will increase from $114,967 to $118,371.
For new SDI claims (whether for short-term disability benefits or paid family leave benefits) the maximum weekly benefit will increase from $1,216 to…