Employers with California employees know to anticipate a multitude of new employment laws each year, and 2023 will be no different. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several bills into law that take effect on January 1, 2023, many of which may impact your organization.
Here are the California laws employers should look out for in
2023:
SB 1162 – Employer Pay Reporting and
Publication of Pay Data
- Requires all employers to provide pay scale information to job
applicants and employees upon request
- Requires employers with 15+ employees to include pay scales in
all job postings, including postings by third parties such as
Indeed or LinkedIn
- Imposes civil penalties for failure to comply and allows
employees to file civil litigation for alleged violations
- Imposes civil penalties for failure to comply and allows
employees to file civil litigation for alleged violations
- Expands upon previous legislation requiring employers with 100+
employees to report specific pay data annually
- Employers with 100+ employees must report to the state
"within each job category, for each combination of race,
ethnicity, and sex, the median and mean hourly rate"
- Employers with 100+ contractors must include contractors'
pay data
- Imposes civil penalties on employers that fail to report
required pay data
- Employers with 100+ employees must report to the state
"within each job category, for each combination of race,
ethnicity, and sex, the median and mean hourly rate"
Key Takeaways: This law brings California law in line
with similar pay transparency laws in Washington, Colorado, and New
York City. Employers may want to consider conducting an audit of
current compensation under attorney-client privilege, if possible,
before this new law takes effect.
AB 1041 – Family Leave for
"Designated Persons"
- Expands California Family Rights Act (CFRA) so that employees
can take job-protected leave to care for a "designated
person"
- "Designated Person" is defined as any individual
related by blood to the employee or whose relationship with the
employee is the "equivalent of a family
relationship"
- Employees may choose a "designated person" in advance
or wait until the time they request leave to name a
"designated person"
- Employers may limit employees to one designated person per
12-month period
Key Takeaways: Employers should consider updating their
handbook policies to include this expansion of eligibility under
CFRA and also may wish to consider limiting employees to one
designated person per 12-month period. California continues to
expand eligibility under CFRA, and employers should anticipate
additional expansions of who qualifies as a "family
member" in the coming legislative sessions, in line with other
West Coast states.
SB 1044 – State of Emergency
- Allows employees to leave work or refuse to show up if they
have a "reasonable belief" that the worksite is
"unsafe"
- Prohibits employers from threatening to retaliate or
retaliating against employees who decide to leave the premises or
not come to work during a state of emergency
- The existence of any health and safety regulations specific to
the emergency condition and an employer's compliance or
noncompliance with those regulations are relevant factors if this
information is known to the employee at the time of the emergency
condition
- "Emergency" does not include pandemics such
as COVID-19
Key Takeaways: This law was passed to protect employees
who choose not to work due to safety concerns during natural
disasters, such as wildfires, or criminal acts, such as mass
shootings. Employees must have a "reasonable belief" of
imminent serious injury or death in order to invoke this law.
AB 1949 – Bereavement Leave
- Provides for up to five days of bereavement leave upon the
death of a family member, as defined under the California Family
Rights Act (CFRA)
- Includes spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent,
grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law
- Includes spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent,
grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law
- Employee must take leave within three months of the death
- Leave is unpaid but employee can use other available paid time
(vacation/PTO, personal leave, or paid sick leave)
- Employer can request supporting documentation
- Thirty-day waiting period permitted for new hires
Key Takeaways: This law brings California law in line
with similar Oregon bereavement leave law. Employers with existing
bereavement policies can use the existing policies if they comply
with this new law. Employers should also consider updating paid
sick leave policies to require documentation if an employee uses
paid sick leave concurrent with bereavement leave.
What Should Employers Do?
- Consider conducting a compensation audit in advance of the new
requirements regarding publication of pay data under SB 1162 to
ensure employees are being paid in line with California's Equal
Pay Act, but consider consulting with your counsel to protect any
audit from privilege;
- Ensure your employee handbook policies, especially your leave
of absence policies and paid sick leave policies, comply with these
new California laws; and
- Consult legal counsel before terminating employees for
attendance reasons for absences that may qualify as excused
absences under one of these new laws.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.