By: Kerri N. Kramer and Francesca Gonzales
The new year will bring new laws affecting workplaces and California employers. We have summarized below several of the key changes affecting California’s labor and employment laws, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025:
NEW BILLS PASSED INTO LAW
Senate Bill (“SB”) 399 prevents so-called “Captive Audience” Meetings by prohibiting employers from retaliating or threatening to retaliate against employees who decline to attend meetings or participate in, receive, or listen to communications regarding the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters. Notably, political matters are defined to include those “relating to …the decision to join or support any … labor organization.”
Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2299 requires the employers to post a new notice to be designed by the Labor Commissioner regarding key employee rights and responsibilities under existing whistleblower laws.
AB 2123 ends permission for employers to require employees to use up to two weeks of vacation before receiving paid family leave benefits.
AB 3234 requires employers who voluntarily audit their social compliance practices to report certain audit findings on their website. A “social compliance audit” is defined as “a voluntary, nongovernmental inspection or assessment of an employer’s operations or practices to evaluate whether the operations or practices are in compliance with state and federal labor laws, including, but not limited to, wage and hour and health and safety regulations, including those regarding child labor.”
AB 1034 extends an existing PAGA exemption for certain construction employers covered by an existing valid collective bargaining agreement.
AB 2499 reframes and expands existing crime victims’ leaves, including additional covered acts of violence, leave purposes, and eligible employees. It also moves these protections from the Labor Code to the Fair Employment and Housing Act, changing the responsible enforcement agency and applicable consequences.
SB 1100 prohibits employers from listing a driver’s license as a job requirement in employment materials (job advertisements, postings, applications, etc.) unless the employer has a reasonable expectation that driving is a function of the position and has determined that no alternative form of transportation would be comparable in travel time or costs to the employer.
SB 988, the “Freelance Worker Protection Act,” adds new requirements for contracts with most independent contractors and establishes default payment deadlines.
SB 1137 clarifies that the anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination not only based on distinct protected categories, but also on any combination of protected categories.
AB 1870 requires employers to post a notice containing information about an injured employee’s ability to consult a licensed attorney to advise them of their rights under workers’ compensations laws.
In addition to these new laws, employers should ensure that they are up to date on other legal changes throughout the year, including Workplace Violence Prevention requirements, updated compliance measures to take advantage of dramatic reforms to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), and Indoor Heat Illness Prevention regulations. Employers should contact an experienced employment attorney at Kring & Chung, LLP to ensure their policies are updated or for further clarification on these upcoming changes.
Kerri N. Kramer is a Senior Associate of Kring & Chung, LLP. She can be reached at (949) 261-7000 or [email protected]. Francesca Gonzales is a law clerk at the Firm.