Several California employment laws are set to take effect Jan. 1. Here’s a rundown
Several employment laws will take effect when the clock turns midnight on New Year’s Eve in California. Here’s what employees and employers should know about the changes taking effect on January 1, 2023.
Minimum wage increase
In July, the state’s department of finance announced the minimum wage will increase from $15 to $15.50 per hour for all employees. Under Labor Code section 1182.12(c), the state determines annually if the minimum wage should be adjusted for inflation.
Family leave and bereavement leave
AB 1949 and AB 1041 modify the California Family Rights Act and affect employers with five or more employees and any government workplace.
As we told you earlier this year, AB 1041 grants workers up to 12 weeks of leave in a calendar year to take care of a family member and extends the definition of a family member to include a “designated person,” any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
AB 1949 expands bereavement leave to five days, which do not need to be taken consecutively. Also, leave taken under AB 1041 does not affect bereavement leave. For example, an employee could take leave to take care of a family member or designated person, then take five days of bereavement leave if that person dies.
Time off under these circumstances is not required to be paid, though employees can elect to use accrued time off, such as vacation leave or sick days, during these periods of leave. Employers should consider putting a system in place to track employees’ designated persons and updating policies regarding vacation time and sick leave.
Pay transparency and pay data reporting
SB 1162 requires California employers with 15 or more workers to provide a salary range on all job postings and requires companies with 100 or more employees in the state to annually report detailed salary information, such as median gender and racial pay gaps. Failure to make a report could result in a $100 fine per employee.
California’s Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying employees of differing sex, race or ethnicity less than others for performing “substantially similar work.”
As a result, employees will have more information about how their peers who perform similar work are paid. Employers should also be aware the data they are required to post could be used against them if it reveals pay discrepancies.
The governor’s office says California women lose $87 billion to the pay gap every year and a U.S. Census Bureau report says women earn 82.3 cents per every dollar earned by a man.
Emergency condition retaliation
SB 1044 prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who, in the event of an emergency condition, leave or refuse to report to a workplace when they have a reasonable belief that it is unsafe.
The definition of an emergency condition in the bill excludes health pandemics, so high COVID-19 levels in an area or opinions about a workplace’s coronavirus protocols cannot be used by employees as a reason to stay home. Emergency conditions mean the following, under the bill:
Conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons or property at the workplace or worksite caused by natural forces or a criminal act (this could include an active shooter).
An order to evacuate a workplace, a worksite, a worker’s home, or the school of a worker’s child due to natural disaster or a criminal act.
The Fast Food Council
AB 257 may not take effect Jan. 1 if the fast food industry and others have their say.
The bill would enact the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act and establish a 10-member Fast Food Council that would enact minimum standards on wages, working hours, and other working conditions related to the health, safety, and welfare of fast food restaurant workers.
The National Restaurant Association and International Franchise Association has formed a coalition called Protect Neighborhood Restaurants to oppose the law, pointing out it would allow the council to set a fast food minimum wage of $22 an hour.
The law could be delayed if a referendum vote is allowed to move forward. Those backing the referendum need to collect about 623,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the 2024 state ballot.
The employment law landscape in California is quickly evolving. If you have a question about changes to the state’s employment laws, Berman North’s employment lawyers can help you. Our skilled attorneys can help employers and employees understand their rights and options.