Erick J. Becker
As we start 2023, here are 7 key new employment laws taking effect. It is important to update your employee handbooks for the upcoming year to ensure compliance with these new requirements.
AB 152 – California Covid Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL)
California COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave expired on December 31, 2022. In addition, Cal OSHA did not extend the requirement of paid leave for employees infected with COVID at the worksite. Starting January 1, there is no obligation to pay for any COVID related absences (aside from regular sick leave or PTO programs), except for certain cities and counties that have kept COVID sick pay requirements in place.
SB 1162 – Pay Transparency
Starting on January 1, 2023, California employers with 15 or more employees must include on any job posting employment with the “pay scale” for the position. Upon request, employees must be provided with the pay scale for their position or a position they are applying for. “Pay Scale” means salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position. SB 1162 also requires all private employers with 100 or more employees to submit a pay data report to the California Civil Rights Department on or before March 31 of each year.
AB 1041 – California Family Rights Act and Sick Leave Definition of “Designated Person”
Starting on January 1, 2023, this bill expands the class of people for whom an employee may take CFRA or sick leave to care for to include a designated person. The bill defines a “designated person” as any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. An employer can limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period.
AB 1949 – Bereavement Leave
This bill requires employers to allow employees who have completed 30 days of employment to take up to 5 days of unpaid bereavement leave upon the death of a family member. AB 1949 requires that leave be completed within 3 months of the date of death. Such leave can be authorized by an existing bereavement leave policy of the employer, but the policy must at the minimum allow 5 days (which can be a combination of paid and unpaid days) separate from any other leave allotment.
AB 2693 – COVID-19 Exposure Notification
Amending the previous COVID notification requirements, this bill allows an employer to display a notice in the workplace of exposure for fifteen days, in lieu of individual notices. The notification must include the dates on which an employee with a confirmed case of COVID-19 was on the worksite premises within the infectious period and the location of the exposure.
SB 253 – Reproductive Healthcare Decisions
This bill expands the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include protection for employees based on decisions about reproductive health, making it a protected category under FEHA. “Reproductive health decisions” includes, but is not limited to, a decision to use or access a particular drug, device, product, or medical service for reproductive health.
AB 2188 – Employment Discrimination: Cannabis
Starting on and after January 1, 2024, this bill makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment based upon the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. This bill makes an exception for preemployment drug screening, as specified, or upon an employer-required drug screening test to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.
If you have any questions regarding these new employment laws and how to implement them in your workplace, please do not hesitate to contact Erick Becker (ebecker@cwlawyers.com), who heads our labor and employment practice, to set up a time to discuss.
