California Laws & Changes Taking Effect Jan. 1

Leave:

Bereavement

Assembly Bill 1949will require employers withfive or more employeesto offer bereavement leave. Eligible employees are entitled to use up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member.

California Family Rights Act & Paid Sick Leave

Assembly Bill 1041will allow employees to use paid sick leave and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave to care for a “designated person.”

Emergency conditions

Senate Bill 1044will prohibit, with limited exceptions, an employer from taking adverse action against an employee for refusing to report to or leaving work during emergency conditions.

Minimum Wage and Overtime:

Minimum wages

The state’sminimum wagewill increase to$15.50per hour for all employees. Severallocal jurisdictions in Californiawill also increase their minimum wages on January 1, 2023. Check your local jurisdiction for details.

Minimum salary requirements

The change in the state’s minimum wage also impacts theminimum salary requirementsfor certain state exemptions from overtime. For the state’s administrative, professional and executive exemptions from overtime, employers must pay a salary of at least$1,240 per weekin 2023.

Discrimination:

Hate crimes

Assembly Bill 2282will clarify the state’s hate crime law as it pertains to the workplace.

Reproductive health decision making

Senate Bill 523will prohibit employers withfive or more employeesfrom discriminating against applicants and employees because of their reproductive health decision making.

Pay Transparency and Pay Data Reporting:

Pay transparency and pay data reporting

Senate Bill 1162will amend the requirements for employers regarding pay transparency and pay data reporting.

• Upon request, all employers must:
• All employers must retain records of a job title and wage rate history for each employee. The records must be kept for the duration of employment plus three years after the end of the employment.
• An employer with15 or more employeesmust include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. If the employer engages a third party to announce, post or publish a job posting, the employer must provide the pay scale to the third party. The third party is required to include the pay scale in the job posting.

Pay transparency

Senate Bill 1162will also amend the requirements for employers regarding pay data reporting. For example, a private employer that has100 or more employeeswill be required to submit a pay data report covering the prior calendar year to the state on or before the second Wednesday of May each year, beginning May 10, 2023. The required elements of the report will also expand to include the median and mean hourly rate for each combination of race, ethnicity and sex within each job category.

Other Changes:

California Privacy Rights Act

TheCalifornia Privacy Rights Act(CPRA) will, among other things, give applicants and employees the right to request that the company disclose to them the personal information collected on them and to direct the company to refrain from selling or sharing their personal information.

COVID-19 Prevention Rules

Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations will replace the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). The Non-Emergency Regulations include some of the same requirements found in the ETS as well as new provisions. For example, employers will no longer be required to make testing available at no cost/during paid time to employees who have COVID-19 symptoms but didn’t have close contact in the workplace.

Wage garnishment

Senate Bill 1477will modify the maximum amount of an individual’s disposable earnings subject to garnishment.