The California Legislature’s latest meeting has resulted in a variety of new state employment laws, most of which become active on January 1st, 2023. From changes within human resources to more pay transparency, each of these new laws affects employers all over the state.

Here’s a quick summary of some of the most important new employment laws California businesses need to comply with.

New Labor Laws for California in 2023

  1. Senate Bill 1162: Pay Transparency With Senate Bill 1162, there are three main aspects that employers need to consider. The first is that employers with over 15 employees in California will now be required to supply pay information, such as pay ranges, when announcing the availability of a job. The second component of the new law requires employers to provide current employees with pay scales for their position if requested. The last aspect of SB 1162 requires employers with 100+ employees to adhere to new pay data filing regulations. This bill goes into effect on January 1st, 2023.
  2. Assembly Bill 1949: Bereavement Leave While state and federal laws have employers provide some form of leave when serious health conditions and other applicable circumstances occur, there is no federal law that permits bereavement leave. With Assembly Bill 1949, employees will now be eligible to take up to five days of bereavement leave in California. Bereavement leave can be taken if a qualifying family member dies and can be taken multiple times if an employee has multiple family members pass. Qualifying family members include the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, sibling, child, grandchild, or grandparent. This leave can be taken apart from CFRA leave and does not count as part of the 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave granted by the CFRA.
  3. Senate Bill 1044: No Retaliation or Adverse Action During Emergency Under this new senate bill, it is prohibited for employers to take adverse action against their employees if they leave or refuse to come into work because they believe it is unsafe due to either emergency conditions or a state of emergency. The law defines an “emergency condition” in two ways. One definition describes it as a condition of disaster or peril to the safety of the people or property of a workplace caused by a natural disaster or criminal act. Second is when an emergency order to evacuate a location has been implemented due to a natural disaster or criminal act. It also makes it illegal for employers to try and prevent their employees from using their cell phones or trying to reach out for emergency assistance.
  4. Assembly Bill 1041: “Designated Person” Leave This bill is designed to build upon the CFRA by adding more qualifying persons that an employee can take caregiver leave for. In the CFRA, employees are granted the right to take unpaid leave for serious health conditions related to themselves, their spouse or domestic partner, a child, sibling, parent, or grandparent. With AB 1041, an employee can now take CFRA leave for a “designated person.” A designated person is defined as any blood relative or person who has the equivalent of a family relationship with the employee.
  5. Assembly Bill 2188: Off-Duty Cannabis Use California has had some of the most progressive cannabis laws in the country for years. Now, they are taking it a step further by implementing Assembly Bill 2188. While it does not become active until January 1st of 2024, AB 2188 prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee or job applicant because of off-duty cannabis use. Because science has only continued to improve around cannabis, tests are now able to show whether or not an individual may actually be impaired, rather than just the presence of cannabis in their system. This allows employers to determine whether or not an employee is impaired on the job or if they just have cannabis in their system from off-duty use. No employee can be penalized or discriminated against if they use cannabis outside of work, and it doesn’t affect their job performance.
  6. Senate Bill 951: Increased Wage Replacement for Paid Family Leave CFRA grants employees the right to take job-protected, unpaid leave for applicable circumstances. When employees take that leave, they may be eligible to apply for Paid Family Leave or State Disability Insurance, both of which offer a form of wage replacement if an employee has to take time away. Senate Bill 951, which will become active as of January 1st, 2025, allows low-wage employees to be eligible for a higher wage replacement rate when applying for Paid Family Leave or State Disability Insurance. A low-wage employee is considered any worker that makes 70% or less of the average state quarterly wage.

FAQs

Q: How Many Hours Straight Can You Legally Work in One Day in CA?

A: Technically, there is no legal limit for how many hours an employee can work in one day. The only regulation is that they must be paid overtime when eligible.

Q: How Many Days in a Row Can You Work in CA?

A: Under California law, an employee can work up to 12 days in a row without taking a day off as long as each week technically has one day of rest. In most cases, employees work six days in a row with a rest day.

Q: What Is an Overtime Exempt Employee?

A: Exempt employees are workers who make a salary each month that is at least two times the minimum wage for full-time employees.

Q: Do Employees Over 18 Need a Break?

A: Technically, all employees should receive 10 minutes of break time for every four hours worked. It’s up to the employer how they implement that.

Employment Law Assistance for Businesses

Employment can be extremely complex, especially here in California. At Fishman, Larsen & Callister, Attorneys at Law, our team has helped countless businesses work through employment law issues. To learn more about our team and how we may be able to help you, don’t hesitate to contact us today.