New Employment Laws and Requirements for 2025
2024 marked a busy year for the California Legislature, which adopted a number of important new laws and regulations that will affect California employers in the years ahead, regardless of the size of their workforce. The following is a summary of some of the more significant laws and regulations that may impact employers’ operations and warrant a review of existing policies and procedures.
Leave and Accommodations
Prohibition on Requiring Use of Accrued Vacation before Paid Family Leave (AB 2123)
Since 2021, employers have been able to require that employees take up to two weeks of accrued but unused vacation leave before the employee is eligible to receive Paid Family Leave benefits. AB 2123 removes this option, so for any period of disability that begins on or after January 1, 2025, employers cannot require that employees use vacation leave before accessing Paid Family Leave benefits.
Employers should review their existing leave policies and handbook to verify compliance.
Expansion of Paid Sick Leave Rights for Victims of Crime and Abuse (AB 2499)
Existing laws protect employees from adverse action when they take time off work for jury duty, to appear in court, or when an employee or their family member is a victim of crime or abuse. Assembly Bill 2499 expands the definition of “victims” in existing law to include victims of a “qualifying act of violence,” which includes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or conduct that involves bodily injury or death, the exhibition or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or when an individual uses force or threatens to use force against another. An employee or their family member may qualify as a victim even if no one is arrested, prosecuted, or convicted of committing any crime.
The bill also authorizes employees’ use of any accrued vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or other paid time off to seek medical care or obtain services when they or a family member are a victim of a qualifying act of violence, unless otherwise prohibited in a collective bargaining agreement. Finally, by recodifying the underlying statutes to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, AB 2499 transfers enforcement authority from the Labor Commissioner to the California Civil Rights Department.
Employers are required to give employees written notice of their rights (see “Updated Posting Requirements” below). Employers should also review their existing leave policies and handbook to verify compliance.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (Federal Regulations)
In April 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued final regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect in 2023.
Under the PWFA, employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a qualified employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business. While the PWFA imposes accommodation obligations that are similar to those that exist under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the PWFA is more expansive.
First, even employees who are able to perform all of their regular and essential job functions may be entitled to accommodations. The PWFA is not limited to conditions that “substantially limit major life activities” (the ADA standard for accommodation) or that “limit a major life activity” (the FEHA standard). In the PWFA, “Limitations” that give rise to a need for accommodation include minor, modest, and episodic needs. Examples include episodic fatigue during pregnancy, or an employee’s need to eat more frequently during breastfeeding. Employers must also provide accommodations to allow employees to maintain their own health or the health of the pregnancy, and to seek healthcare related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related thereto. Unlike the ADA, the PWFA allows for the temporary suspension of an essential job function as an accommodation, if the employee is able to or is expected to be able to perform the essential function in the near future and the employer can reasonably accommodate the inability to perform that function in the interim.
Under the PWFA, Employers must timely process accommodation requests and can request documentation to support a request for accommodation only if it is “reasonable” to do so. Employers are prohibited from requesting documentation where the physical need or medical condition and accommodation needed are obvious; when the employer already has sufficient information to determine whether an employee has a physical or mental condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition; when the accommodation is related to a time and/or place to pump or nurse at work; or when the accommodation requested is available to employees for non-PWFA purposes and no supporting documentation is required.
Hiring Practices
Restrictions on Driver’s License Requirements in Job Postings (SB 1100)
Senate Bill 1100 limits the circumstances in which an employer can include a statement in a job posting or other application material that an applicant must possess a driver’s license. Beginning January 1, 2025, an employer may only include such a statement if: (a) it reasonably expects driving to be one of the job functions for the position; and (2) it reasonably believes that satisfying the job function using alternative modes of transportation like Uber, taxi, carpool, bicycling, or walking would not be comparable in travel time or cost.
Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers
Employers that are located or do business in unincorporated Los Angeles County should be aware of a new County Ordinance that took effect on September 3, 2024. The County’s Fair Chance Ordinance adds new procedural requirements and significantly expands upon existing City ordinances and State laws that relate to the use of criminal background checks in hiring.
Under the ordinance, for job offers conditioned on a criminal background check, employers must include in all job solicitations, bulletins, postings, announcements, and/or advertisements a list of all “material job duties” of the specific job position that the employer “reasonably believes” an applicant’s criminal history may have a “direct, adverse, and negative relationship” upon and which may result in withdrawal of a job offer. Additionally, if an employer will review other information (such as employment and/or education history) it must include these items in the list.
Employers that utilize criminal background checks must prepare a written, individualized assessment before taking any adverse action against an applicant. The assessment must consider whether the applicant’s criminal history has a “direct adverse and negative bearing” on their ability to perform the duties or responsibilities of the position, such that it “justifies” denying employment. The employer’s assessment must also consider the factors outlined in state law, such as the amount of time that has passed since the criminal conduct or completion of sentence.
Furthermore, employers subject to the ordinance must provide advance notice to applicants before taking an action based on their criminal history, including informing applicants of their right to submit evidence of rehabilitation. Employers may not act or fill a position for at least five days after notifying an applicant of their rights, and if an applicant provides further information for the employer to consider, the employer must defer the final decision for at least 10 days after it receives additional information. Employers also are required to meet with an applicant upon the applicant’s request.
Decisions made after receiving additional information must be documented in writing. If final adverse action is taken, employers must notify the applicant that they are no longer being considered for the position within 30 days after the applicant responded to the employer’s initial notice.
Finally, the ordinance creates posting and union notification requirements (see “Updated Posting Requirements” below) and creates public and private remedies, including civil claims.
Increased Protections for Independent Contractors (SB 988)
Senate Bill 988 creates new requirements and remedies for independent contractors that perform “Professional Services,” which includes marketing services, human resources administration, graphic design, grant writing, photography/videography and editing, writers and editors, content production, and appraisal services, among others.
SB 988 requires that covered independent contractor agreements be in writing, itemize the services to be provided, state the value of each service and the rate and/or method of compensation, provide for payment due dates, and specify the procedure for submitting invoices. Compensation must be paid when due, and in any event paid not later than 30 days after the services are complete. Written contracts must be retained for four years.
SB 988 creates a civil penalty of $1,000 if a hiring party fails to provide a written contract upon the independent contractor’s request. It also enables independent contractors to be awarded actual damages, liquidated damages (equal to two times any amount due but unpaid), and attorneys’ fees and costs in an action to enforce the new law.
Employer/Employee Relations
Ban on Religious, Political, and Anti-Union Captive Audience Meetings (SB 399)
Senate Bill 399 expands upon existing laws that protect employees’ freedom of association rights, and prohibit employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees with respect to self-organization and collective bargaining.
Under the new law, an employer may not take adverse action against an employee who declines to participate in an employer-sponsored meeting (or other communication) whose purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters. As defined, religious matters include religious affiliation and practice, and the decision to join or support any religious organization or association, and political matters include elections, parties, legislation, regulations, or the decision to join or support any political party, political organization, or labor organization.
Employees who choose to work instead of attending such meetings must be paid at their ordinary rate. The bill creates a private right of action for employees, who may seek monetary damages, injunctive relief, and punitive damages, and further permits the Labor Commissioner to impose a $500 civil penalty per violation.
Protection for Intersectionality of Protected Characteristics (SB 1137)
Senate Bill 1137 amends the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the FEHA to clarify that in addition to prohibiting discrimination based on one protected characteristic (sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status), these laws also prohibit discrimination based on any combination of protected characteristics. The bill also amends the definition of “race” to include “traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles.” “Protective hairstyles” include but are not limited to such hairstyles as braids, locs, and twists.
Construction Industry Laws and Regulations
Construction Industry PAGA Exemption Extended (AB 1034)
The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) exempts employees in the construction industries that perform work under a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for the wages, hours of work and working conditions of employees, premium wage rates for overtime, and a regular hourly pay rate of not less than 30% more than the state minimum wage.
The industry exemption, which was set to expire on January 1, 2028, was extended to January 1, 2038.
Indoor Heat Standards and Written Prevention Plan Requirements (California Code of Regulations)
In June 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved a new regulation (Title 8, Section 3396) that applies to all workplaces where indoor temperatures reach 82 degrees. Employers are now obligated to establish and implement a written Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Plan that is similar in many respects to the Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Plans required under existing regulations. The specific requirements for Indoor Heat Prevention Plans include establishing procedures to measure the temperature and heat index, providing access to potable water, encouraging and allowing employees to take cool down periods, and monitoring for the symptoms of heat-related illness. Workplaces subject to the new regulation must also provide at least one cool down area that is kept below 82 degrees and large enough to accommodate the number of workers on any one rest break.
Updated Posting Requirements
Numerous 2024 bills imposed new or updated posting and notification requirements.
- Workers’ Compensation: Beginning January 1, 2025, the required workers’ compensation posted notice must also state that an injured employee may consult a licensed attorney to advise them of their rights under workers’ compensations laws, and that in most instances, attorneys’ fees will be paid from an injured employee’s recovery.
- Whistleblower Laws: Assembly Bill 2299 creates a safe harbor for employers that post the model notice of employees’ rights and responsibilities under whistleblower laws prepared by the Labor Commissioner. The model notice is available on the Department of Industrial Relations’ website at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/whistleblowersnotice.pdf
- Time off For Victims of Crime or Abuse: As discussed above, AB 2499 creates a new requirement that employers provide notice of employees’ rights under the law to use sick time if they or their family member are a victim of a qualifying act of violence or abuse. Employers are required to provide written notice to new hires, to all employees annually, upon an employee’s request, and any time the employer becomes aware that an employee or employee’s family member is a victim. The Legislature directed the Department of Civil Rights to develop a form employers may use to comply, to be entitled “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations,” which is to be posted on the Department’s website by July 1, 2025. Employers are not required to comply with the notification requirement until the Department posts the form.
- Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance: Employers subject to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance ordinance, discussed above, are required to post notice of the ordinance at every workplace, and on websites frequently visited by applicants or employees. The County has provided a model notice on its website, available at: https://dcba.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FCOE-Official-Notice-Eng-Final-8.30.2024.pdf
If you have any questions regarding any of the foregoing new laws or need assistance with any labor or employee relations matter, please contact Dwayne McKenzie and Kevin Hannifan.