On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1512 (“AB 1512”), which for the first time allows employers to require their unionized security officers to take on-duty rest breaks. Historically, employees could agree to take on-duty meal breaks (with certain prerequisites), but the law was silent as to on-duty
Articles about California Labor And Employment Law.
Sacramento City and County Now Have COVID-19–Related Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Laws
On September 1, 2020, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed the Sacramento County Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act of 2020. The county appears to have modeled its new law on the City of Sacramento’s own recent Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act (WPHSA), which the city enacted on
New California Law Mandates Corporate Board Diversity
In the midst of national conversations surrounding racial equity and social justice, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 979 into law on September 30, 2020.
Pay Data Reporting: California is the Tip of the Spear
In a continued effort to reduce gender and racial pay gaps, on September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 973, which creates massive pay reporting requirements for employers. In 2021, certain California employers will be required to submit annual information on its employees’ pay data by
Governor Signs Legislation Extending Period to File a Discrimination or Retaliation Complaint with California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement – Labor Commissioner
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1947, which extends the period to file a discrimination or retaliation complaint to one year with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) or better known as the Labor Commissioner. Before the passage of this legislation, employees alleging they had
Governor Newsom Signs Law Requiring California Hospitals to Stockpile PPE
On September 29, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2537 (AB 2537), the latest in a series of legislative enactments designed to protect employees from COVID-19 exposures in the workplace. Beginning April 1, 2021, employers in hospital settings will be required to maintain a three-month
Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Expanding Paid Family Leave for Employees Who Are Participating in a Qualifying Exigency
Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2399 on September 30, 2020, which extended the definitions for Paid Family Leave under Sections 3302 and 3307 of the Unemployment Insurance Code to include additional coverage for active military members and their families. The existing state Paid Family Leave program provided wage replacement benefits
AB 5 Update: Newspaper Carriers Secure (Another) One-Year Exception
As business owners and members of the labor and employment law community know all too well, California’s AB 5 went into effect on January 1 of this year. The law imposed the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor.
California Governor Newsom Signs into Law Extension to CCPA Employee Personal Information Exemption, Vetoes Another Privacy Bill
On September 29th, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1281, an amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) that would extend the current exemption on employee personal information from most of the CCPA’s protections, until January 1 2022. The exemption on employee personal information was slated to
Governor Signs Legislation Extending Safety Related Retaliation Protection to Domestic Workers
California law already prohibits employers from taking certain employment actions against an employee for refusing to work in some circumstances where there is a real or apparent safety hazard to the employee or other employees. On September 29, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2568, which extends that protection to
Governor Signs Legislation Requiring Provision and Maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment for Health Care Employees Due to Covid-19
On September 29, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2537, which significantly expands upon employers’ existing baseline obligations for providing a safe and healthful work environment. The new bill creates specific requirements regarding general acute care hospitals’ distribution and supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). Its purpose is to protect
New Law Mandates Training for Human Resources Employees and Others Pertaining to Child Abuse and Neglect
On September 29, 2020, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 1963 which amends Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code, relating to mandated reporters of child abuse.
The existing law, the Child Abuse, and Neglect Reporting Act, requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to report whenever they, in their professional capacity or
AB 979 Requires California-Based Publicly Held Corporations to Diversify Their Boards of Directors
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 979, which requires publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities” by December 31, 2021. This bill is similar to Senate Bill 826, signed into law in 2018, which required publicly
AB 1731 Offers Much-Needed Reforms to California’s Work Sharing Program
Signed into law on September 28, 2020, AB 1731 moves California’s work sharing program into the 21st century by mandating an online application process and specific deadlines for delivering claim forms. Work sharing is an unemployment insurance (UI) benefit program that gives employers the option of reducing employee hours
New Law Mandates Cal/OSHA’s Infection Prevention Outreach to Agricultural Workers
On September 28, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2043 (“AB 2043”) which tasks the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations (“Cal/OSHA”) with conducting a statewide outreach campaign to apprise Agricultural employees of best practices for coronavirus (“COVID-19”) infection prevention and their right to