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Up 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 a number of 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, prepare staff, and put together/keep data 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 menace of violence that happens in a spot of employment that ends in, or has a excessive probability of leading to, damage, psychological trauma, or stress, no matter whether or not the worker sustains an damage.”

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 data should be maintained for one to 5 years, relying on the kind of report. For extra data on the brand new legislation, please evaluate Sheppard’s latest weblog submit on this subject right here.

Paid Sick Go away Enlargement

SB 616 amends California’s Wholesome Workplaces, Wholesome Households Act of 2014 to boost the quantity of paid sick time staff can acquire annually 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 go away should now provide 5 days (40 hours) initially of the yr. Employers utilizing a distinct accrual course of should now assure an worker has not less than 40 hours of accrued sick go away by the 2 hundredth calendar day of employment, along with the requirement that staff have not less than three days (24 hours) by the one hundred and twentieth day of employment. Workers should be allowed to make use of not less than 5 days (40 hours) annually. For added data, please evaluate Sheppard’s latest weblog submit 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 increased than the state’s minimal wage.

Notably, the minimal wage enhance for particular business employers, similar to healthcare services, begins June 1, 2024. The brand new minimal wage for healthcare services will vary from $18 to $23 per hour, relying on the scale and site of the power. Quick meals employees can even see an analogous enhance, to $20 per hour, starting April 1, 2024.

No Computerized Keep Throughout Appeals of Motions to Compel Arbitration Selections

SB 365 amends the California Code of Civil Process with the intention of not robotically staying trial court docket 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 whether to remain proceedings whereas an enchantment is heard. The legislation will possible be contested in court docket, on the premise that it’s preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). For added data, please evaluate Sheppard’s latest weblog submit on this subject right here.

Prosecution for California Labor Code Violations

AB 594 empowers native prosecutors to pursue a civil or prison 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 personal 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 liable 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 evaluate Sheppard’s latest weblog submit on this subject right here.

Reproductive Loss Go away

SB 848 requires employers to supply a go away 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 go away is restricted to twenty days inside a 12-month interval, and staff should be allowed to take their go away non-consecutively. Go away could also be unpaid, however staff should be permitted use sick go away or different paid day without work in the event that they so select. Data offered to the employer by the worker regarding the go away should stay confidential and can’t be disclosed, until required by legislation. SB 848 additionally forbids retaliation for an worker’s use of this go away.

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 exterior of the state. An employer will now commit a civil violation for coming into into or imposing a void noncompete. Workers can even now have a personal reason behind motion in opposition to their employer.

In an analogous vein, AB 1076 requires employers to contact all present or former staff who have 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 electronic 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 evaluate Sheppard’s latest weblog submit right here.

Emergency or Catastrophe Declaration Data

Efficient January 1, 2024, AB 636 expands the knowledge 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 in opposition to 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 might 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 evaluate Sheppard’s weblog submit right here.

Takeaways

These new employment legal guidelines are in depth. 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 must also begin making ready office violence prevention plans to be in compliance by July 1, 2024.

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