In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several bills into law, which will greatly impact California employers. Below is a summary of new key employment laws for 2020.
AB 51: Ban of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
The new law prohibits an employer from requiring any applicant for employment or any employee to waive any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of any provision of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) or the Labor Code as a condition of employment, continued employment, or the receipt of any employment-related benefit. It prohibits retaliation and discrimination against an applicant or employee who refuses to enter such agreements. The law provides that it does not invalidate any agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Employers may wish to seek legal counsel on how to proceed with amending such agreements in 2020.
AB 5: Codifying the ABC Test for Employee/Independent Contractor Classification
The “ABC test” is used to distinguish employees from independent contractors under the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders. AB 5 codified this test and expanded its application to the Labor and Unemployment Insurance Codes but carved out numerous exceptions for various industries. Companies should consult with legal counsel on the potential application of exceptions under the new law and the different classification standards.
SB 778: Harassment Prevention Training
Companies with five or more employees must provide one hour of sexual harassment prevention training to nonsupervisory employees and two hours of such training to supervisors by January 1, 2021.
SB 142: Expansion of Lactation Accommodation Requirements
The new law expands existing lactation accommodation requirements. Specifically, the lactation space itself must, inter alia, contain a place to seat, a surface to place personal items, and have access to electricity. Access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator must be provided close to the employee’s workspace. The law also requires companies to create and implement a lactation accommodation policy, including publishing the policy in the employee handbook. An “undue hardship exemption” is limited to companies with fewer than 50 employees.
SB 83: Extension of Paid Family Leave
The Paid Family Leave (PFL) program provides partial wage replacement benefits to employees who are absent from work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement of the child via foster care or adoption. Beginning July 1, 2020, the maximum duration of PFL benefits individuals may receive from California’s State Disability Insurance (SDI) program will be extended from six to eight weeks.
AB 9: Extension of FEHA Statute of Limitations
Under current law, individuals have one year to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) for purported FEHA violations, such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation. AB 9 extended the statute of limitations from one year to three years. Given this statute of limitations extension, it will become especially important for companies to keep detailed, accurate and contemporaneous employment-related documentation.
AB 749: Settlement Agreements
The new law provides that settlement agreements between employers and employees entered into on or after January 1, 2020, can no longer contain “no rehire” clauses. When the employer has made a good faith determination that the employee has engaged in sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, the law does not apply.
AB 25: Amendment to California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)
The recently enacted California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives consumers, inter alia, the rights to know about and have deleted the data businesses have gathered about them. AB 25 was introduced to exempt employers for one year from abiding by the CCPA with respect to information collected about a person while the person is acting as job applicant to, an employee of, director of, officer of, medical staff member of, or contractor of that employer. This means that the CCPA generally does not apply as long as employers collect data of employees and job applicants for purposes solely relating to employment; this exemption remains in effect only until January 1, 2021. Companies should adopt best practices in order to comply with the amended CCPA with respect to both non-employees and employees by January 1, 2021.
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