Prior to now few months, California Governor Newsom has signed quite a few new employment legal guidelines affecting California employers of all sizes. Beneath is a abstract of among the legal guidelines going into impact in 2024.
Office Violence Prevention Security Plan
California will grow to be the primary state to demand employers to create an “efficient” office violence prevention plan, practice staff, and put together/keep information relating to office violence, beginning July 1, 2024. SB 553 covers just about all employers. “Office violence” is outlined as “any act of violence or risk of violence that happens in a spot of employment that ends in, or has a excessive probability of leading to, harm, psychological trauma, or stress, no matter whether or not the worker sustains an harm.”
Not solely should employers put together a written prevention plan that’s accessible to staff, they’re additionally required to maintain a “log” of each “office violence incident” and implement requisite coaching when the plan is first established. Transferring ahead, employers might want to present coaching on an annual foundation. Moreover, sure coaching information should be maintained for one to 5 years, relying on the kind of file. For extra data on the brand new legislation, please overview Sheppard’s latest weblog put up on this subject right here.
Paid Sick Depart Enlargement
SB 616 amends California’s Wholesome Workplaces, Wholesome Households Act of 2014 to lift the quantity of paid sick time staff can receive every year from three to 5 days (or 40 hours) for full-time staff. The legislation additionally expands the annual accrual restrict from six days (or 48 hours) to 10 days (or 80 hours).
Employers utilizing the “front-loading” technique of permitting paid sick depart should now provide 5 days (40 hours) at the start of the yr. Employers utilizing a distinct accrual course of should now assure an worker has at the least 40 hours of accrued sick depart by the two hundredth calendar day of employment, along with the requirement that staff have at the least three days (24 hours) by the one hundred and twentieth day of employment. Staff should be allowed to make use of at the least 5 days (40 hours) every year. For added data, please overview Sheppard’s latest weblog put up on this subject right here.
Minimal Wage Will increase
On January 1, 2024, the statewide minimal wage will enhance to $16 per hour. The minimal exempt wage for California staff will rise from $64,480 to $66,560. Along with the rise within the state minimal wage, many localities have their very own minimal wage necessities which can be greater than the state’s minimal wage.
Notably, the minimal wage enhance for particular trade employers, corresponding to healthcare amenities, begins June 1, 2024. The brand new minimal wage for healthcare amenities will vary from $18 to $23 per hour, relying on the dimensions and placement of the ability. Quick meals employees will even see the same enhance, to $20 per hour, starting April 1, 2024.
No Automated Keep Throughout Appeals of Motions to Compel Arbitration Choices
SB 365 amends the California Code of Civil Process with the intention of not routinely staying trial courtroom proceedings when a celebration appeals an order denying a movement to compel arbitration. This legislation permits courts to make use of their discretion as as to if to remain proceedings whereas an attraction is heard. The legislation will seemingly be contested in courtroom, on the premise that it’s preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). For added data, please overview Sheppard’s latest weblog put up on this subject right here.
Prosecution for California Labor Code Violations
AB 594 empowers native prosecutors to pursue a civil or legal motion for violations of the California labor code that come up inside their jurisdiction. The legislation additionally states that any settlement between the employer and worker that makes an attempt to “restrict consultant actions or to mandate non-public arbitration” is not going to be enforceable.
Rebuttable Presumption of Retaliation
SB 497, recognized colloquially because the “Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Act, amends the California Labor Code to create a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an worker is disciplined or terminated inside 90 days of participating in sure protected exercise. Employers are also accountable for a civil penalty of as much as $10,000 per worker for every violation, to be awarded to the worker who confronted retaliation. For extra data on the brand new legislation, please overview Sheppard’s latest weblog put up on this subject right here.
Reproductive Loss Depart
SB 848 requires employers to supply a depart of as much as 5 days following a “reproductive loss occasion,” which is “the day or, for a multiple-day occasion, the ultimate day of a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted copy.” The depart is restricted to twenty days inside a 12-month interval, and staff should be allowed to take their depart non-consecutively. Depart could also be unpaid, however staff should be permitted use sick depart or different paid break day in the event that they so select. Data offered to the employer by the worker regarding the depart should stay confidential and can’t be disclosed, except required by legislation. SB 848 additionally forbids retaliation for an worker’s use of this depart.
Noncompete Agreements
SB 699, which turns into operative January 1, 2024, clarifies that current legislation prohibits noncompetition covenants no matter the place or when the settlement was signed, even when the covenant was signed outdoors of the state. An employer will now commit a civil violation for coming into into or implementing a void noncompete. Staff will even now have a non-public reason for motion towards their employer.
In the same vein, AB 1076 requires employers to contact all present or former staff who had been employed after January 1, 2022, and had (or have) contracts containing a noncompete clause, informing them that the noncompete clause is void. The discover should be accomplished by February 14, 2024, and is required to be in writing and delivered to each the final recognized bodily tackle and e-mail tackle of the worker. If an employer fails to ship this discover, it constitutes a violation of California’s Unfair Competitors Regulation. For added data, please overview Sheppard’s latest weblog put up right here.
Emergency or Catastrophe Declaration Data
Efficient January 1, 2024, AB 636 expands the data required in employers’ wage theft notices. This new legislation requires these notices embody data relating to “[t]he existence of a federal or state emergency or catastrophe declaration relevant to the county or counties the place the worker is to be employed” that have an effect on staff’ well being and security throughout their employment. Whereas the California Labor Commissioner’s workplace is making ready a discover template by March 1, 2024, employers ought to convey their notices up-to-date within the interim.
Hashish Use
AB 2188 amends the California Honest Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) to ban an employer from discriminating towards an worker or applicant due to the worker’s or applicant’s hashish use off the job and away from work. Notably, this new legislation doesn’t allow an worker to own, be impaired by, or use hashish whereas working, which means employers could proceed to implement any insurance policies they’ve prohibiting staff from possessing, being impaired by, or utilizing hashish whereas on the job. For added data on the protections round staff’ hashish use, please overview Sheppard’s weblog put up right here.
Takeaways
These new employment legal guidelines are intensive. Employers ought to consider and revise related insurance policies and practices, together with worker handbooks and employment agreements containing restrictive covenants, to make sure compliance. Employers also needs to begin making ready office violence prevention plans to be in compliance by July 1, 2024.
