Cal/OSHA regulates employee safety at places of employment.  Historically, household domestic services were excluded from the definition of a “place of employment” and therefore Cal/OSHA’s jurisdiction. With a swish of his duster pen, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1350, which removes this exemption and grants Cal/OSHA control over household domestic services with the following exceptions:

  • Household domestic service that is publicly funded, including publicly funded household domestic service provided to a recipient, client, or beneficiary with a share of the cost of that service.
  • Employment in family daycare homes, as defined.
  • Individuals who, in their own residences, privately employ persons to perform for the benefit of such individuals what are commonly regarded as ordinary domestic household tasks, including housecleaning, cooking, and caregiving.

All other household domestic services will be governed by Cal/OSHA’s workplace safety requirements effective July 1, 2025.

If you have questions about the application of SB 1350 or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

On September 28, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1100 into law making it an unlawful employment practice to include statements about the need for a driver’s license in job advertisements, postings, applications,  and similar employment material. In California, driver’s licenses have increasingly become a condition of employment. The law addresses discrimination against individuals without driver’s licenses by eliminating this requirement as a condition of employment unless certain requirements are met.

Under the law, an employer may not include a statement that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the following conditions are satisfied:

  • The employer reasonably expects driving to be one of the job functions of the position.
  • The employer reasonably believes that using an alternative form of transportation would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.

An “alternative form of transportation” can include, but is not limited to:

  • Ride-hailing services.
  • Taxis.
  • Carpooling.
  • Bicycling.
  • Walking.

This law takes effect January 1, 2025.

If you have questions about SB1100 or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

On September 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2123, eliminating employer’s ability to require employees to use accrued vacation leave before accessing California’s Paid Family Leave Program (PFL).

PFL is a state-run program providing benefits to individuals taking time off to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner, bond with a new minor child, or assist military family members under active duty.

Previously, employers could require employees to take up to 2 weeks of accrued vacation before employees could access PFL benefits. As of January 1, 2025, this requirement will no longer apply.

For questions about AB 2123, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney.

On September 29, 2024, the Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2499, expanding the list of crimes for which employees can take time off and allowing employees to take protected time off to assist family members who are victims of specified crimes. The new law also permits the use of state paid sick leave for these purposes.

Prior to AB 2499, California law provided protections to employees from discrimination or retaliation for taking time off for jury duty, court appearances, or to employees who were victims of crime or abuse.

Under AB 2499, these protections remain in place, but broaden the definition of “victims” to include a victim of a “qualifying act of violence,” which means any of the following, regardless of whether anyone is arrested for, prosecuted for, or convicted of committing any crime:

  • Domestic violence
  • Sexual assault
  • Stalking
  • An act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that includes:
    • An individual causes bodily injury or death to another
    • An individual exhibits, draws, brandishes, or uses a firearm or other dangerous weapon, with respect to another
    • An individual uses or makes a reasonably perceived or actual threat of use of force against another to cause physical injury or death.

In addition, this law moves the jury, court, and victim time off provisions from the Labor Code (former Labor Code Sections 230 and 230.1) as unlawful employment practices within the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Government Code Section 12945.8) and, with it, moves the enforcement authority to the California Civil Rights Department. 

Under the bill employees are permitted to use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off that is available unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement.

Finally, under the law employers will be required to provide written notice of their rights established under this bill to new hires, to all employees annually, at any time upon request, and any time the employer becomes newly aware that an employee or an employee’s family member is a victim.

This bill takes effect January 1, 2025.

If you have questions about AB 2499 or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

On September 27, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1137, which clarifies that the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the provisions of the Education Code prohibiting discrimination in public education, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit discrimination on the basis not just of individual protected traits, but also on the basis of the intersectionality (e.g., combination) of two or more protected traits.

Specifically relevant to employers, the law amends FEHA to clarify that the protected characteristics enumerated in the statute include a combination of those characteristics.

The California Legislature described the concept of intersectionality as follows:

Intersectionality is an analytical framework that sets forth that different forms of inequality operate together, exacerbate each other, and can result in amplified forms of prejudice and harm. The framework and term “intersectionality,” coined and popularized by legal scholar Professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, captures the unique, interlocking forms of discrimination and harassment experienced by individuals in the workplace and throughout society . . .

Through SB 1137, California’s Legislature affirms the decision of Lam v. University of Hawai’i (9th Cir. 1994) 40 F.3d 1551, where the Ninth Circuit found that when an individual claims multiple bases for discrimination or harassment, it may be necessary to establish whether the discrimination or harassment occurred on the basis of a combination of these factors, not just one protected characteristic alone.  

This amendment will take effect January 1, 2025.

Federal law already affords similar protection pertaining to discrimination and harassment in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s interpretive guidance of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

On September 26, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1815, which amends the definition of “race” in the anti-discrimination provisions of the California Government Code, and Education Code, as well as the definitions of “protective hairstyles.”  Under the bill, the same definitions apply to the Unruh Civil Rights Act which covers discrimination by businesses.

California was the first state, in 2019, to clarify that the definition of race discrimination included hairstyles under the CROWN Act. AB 1815 makes amendments to the CROWN Act including the definition of “race” and “protective hairstyles.”

Under the amendments, race is “inclusive of traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles.” “Protective hairstyles” “include but are not limited to such hairstyles as braids, locs, and twists.”

Before AB 1815, some code sections defined “race” as inclusive of traits historically associated with race.  As amended, the word “historically” was removed because it was vague and confusing.  The bill applies retroactively since it is a declaration of existing law.

The changes discussed here may seem minor.  However, employers should take heed because the definitions may impact existing policies dealing with acceptable dress and appearance in the workplace.

If you have questions about AB1815 or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1340, which mandates the Civil Rights Department to collaborate with local agencies to prevent and eliminate unlawful practices. Local agencies may now play a more active role in handling discrimination complaints, potentially providing quicker and more localized responses.

SB 1340 now provides that any political subdivision of the state may enact and enforce anti-discrimination laws that are at least as protective as state law. Importantly for employers, local enforcement may occur only after the Civil Rights Department issues a right-to-sue notice; however, the statute of limitations provided in the right-to-sue notice is extended during any local enforcement, without prohibiting the potential plaintiff from filing during local enforcement.

The changes take effect January 1, 2025.

If you have questions about SB 1340 and related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

As of September 24, 2024, Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1105, which expands existing paid sick leave provisions to allow agricultural employees to use paid sick leave for additional reasons.

These changes take effect on January 1, 2025.

SB 1105 supplements the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to require that employers provide paid sick days to agricultural employees who (i) work outside and (ii) request sick leave to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state emergency, including sick days necessary for preventive care due to their work or such conditions.

SB 1105 defines “agricultural employee” as a person employed in any of the following:

  • An agricultural occupation, as defined in Wage Order No. 14 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
  • An industry that prepares agricultural products for the market on the farm, as defined in Wage Order No. 13 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
  • An industry that handles products after harvest, as defined in Wage Order No. 8 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

Current requirements of the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act remain in effect with the amendment outlined above. Existing law entitles an employee who works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within one year from the commencement of employment to paid sick days for specified purposes upon the oral or written request of an employee. These specified purposes include the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee’s family member. Employers may not deny an employee the right to use accrued sick days or discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using or attempting to use accrued sick days. Lastly, existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to enforce the Act, including investigating an alleged violation, and authorizes the Labor Commissioner to order any appropriate relief, as specified, to an employee or other person whose rights under the Act were violated.

If you have questions about SB 1105, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, or related issues, please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

On September 22, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 3234 into law which imposes more transparency requirements for employers that audit their child labor practices.  The bill will take effect on January 1, 2025.

Under AB 3234, any employer that has voluntarily subjected its business to a “social compliance audit” to determine in whole or in part if child labor is involved in the employer’s operations or practices, must post a link on its website to a report detailing the findings of the audit.  AB 3234 defines “social compliance audit” as a voluntary, nongovernmental inspection or assessment of an employer’s operations and practices to verify that it complies with state and federal labor laws, including health and safety regulations regarding child labor.

AB 3234 provides that the following information must be included within the compliance report:

  • The year, month, day, and time the audit was conducted, and whether the audit was conducted during a day shift or night shift;
  • Whether the employer engages in or supports the use of child labor;
  • A copy of the employer’s written policies and procedures regarding child employees;
  • Whether the employer exposes children to any workplace situations that are hazardous or unsafe to their physical and mental health and development;
  • Whether children work within or outside regular school hours, or during night hours, for the employer; and
  • A statement that the auditing company is not a government agency and is not authorized to verify compliance with state and federal labor laws or other health and safety regulations.

Given this upcoming change in the law, legal and compliance teams should assess whether their companies are subject to the AB 3234 disclosure requirements.  If you have questions about AB3234 or related issues, contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.

As kids head back to school, California employees with children may need time off for various reasons from school-related activities to kids who are sick. Here are reminders of the California leave entitlements for parents and caregivers.

School Activity Leave

Under California Labor Code Section 230.8, employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location must provide parents, guardians, or grandparents with custody of a child in grades kindergarten through 12 or attending a licensed daycare facility with up to 40 hours of unpaid leave per year.

This leave allows employees to participate in school activities, including field trips, school meetings, and childcare provider conferences. However, the leave is capped at eight hours per month.

Employers may require employees to use any accrued vacation time or other paid time off before taking unpaid leave for school activities. Additionally, employees must provide reasonable advance notice of the need for such leave.

Suspension or Expulsion Meeting

California Labor Code Section 230.7 prohibits all employers from discharging or discriminating against a parent or guardian employee for taking time off to appear at their student’s school for purposes of suspension or expulsion meetings pursuant to California Education Code section 48900.1.

Paid Sick Leave

When kids bring home the latest virus circulating at school, parents or guardians have the right to use their accrued Paid Sick Leave to care for a child. Paid sick leave under California law allows employees to take time off for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition, as well as preventive care, for both the employee and the employee’s family. At the start of 2024, the amount of mandated paid sick leave increased to five days or 40 hours. In addition, employers should check whether any local sick leave ordinances also apply.

If you have questions about California leave law or related issues contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.