The past few years have seen many disruptions and changes to daily and working life, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. One thing that has remained constant, however, is annual updates to California’s employment laws. Here are some of the major new laws that will broadly affect most employers beginning in January of 2023.
Pay Transparency & Data Reporting – SB 1162
Employers with 15 or more employees must now include a pay scale in their job postings. Pay scale is defined as “the salary or hourly range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position.” Employees may request at any time to see a pay scale for the position in which they are currently employed. Companies are also required to maintain job title and wage history records for all employees during their employment, plus a three-year period post-employment.
This law also affects pay data reporting to the state and requires employers with 100 or more employees (of their own or employed through a hiring contractor) to file a pay data report with the state Civil Rights Department by May 10, 2023. The report needs to contain:
- The number of employees by race, ethnicity, and gender in job categories
- The median and mean hourly rates within each job category by race, ethnicity, and gender
Bereavement Leave – AB 1949
This bill updates the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to mandate that businesses provide employees with up to five days of unpaid bereavement leave for the death of a qualifying family member. To be eligible for this leave, an employee must have been employed by the company for at least 30 days. Leave may be taken for the death of a spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, child, or sibling. AB 1949 requires that bereavement leave be completed within three months of the death, and states that the bereavement leave does not need
to be taken consecutively.
Designated Person Caregiver Leave – AB 1041
AB 1041 expands the definition of a family member under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and California’s Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) to include a “designated person.” Employees will be able to name a designated person for whom they want to use leave when they request unpaid (CFRA) or paid (HWHFA) leave. However, employers will be able to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period.
Reproductive Health Decision Making – SB 523
SB 523 makes it unlawful for employees to discriminate against an applicant or an employee based on reproductive health decision-making. The bill also makes it “unlawful for an employer to require, as a condition of employment, continued employment, or a benefit of employment,” applicants or employees to disclose any information related to their reproductive health decisions.
Emergency Conditions – SB1044
This bill adds Labor Code section 1193, which prohibits an employer from taking or threatening “adverse action against any employee for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace or worksite within the affected area because the employee has a reasonable belief that the workplace or worksite is unsafe” in the event of an emergency condition. The law defines an “emergency condition” as either natural forces (such as an earthquake) or a criminal act (such as an active shooter). The law specifically excludes health pandemics, so circumstances around COVID-19 are not covered under this bill.
As a reminder, the California minimum wage is increasing to $15.50/hr for all employees beginning on January 1, 2023.
Making sure your business is up to date with annual changes to employment laws is imperative. It is also crucial to know that your staffing partners are in compliance with all state employment requirements. Our team at Innovative Career Resources is dedicated to being proactive in our compliance and would love to partner with you to meet your hiring needs.
Contact us today to see how we can help you.