California
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Law
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Main Topic
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Summary
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Effective Date
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AB 5
and
AB 170
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Worker Classification:
Test for Determining Independent Contractor Status
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Adopts as law the ABC test from the Dynamex v. Superior Court1 case as a way to classify whether workers are employees or independent contractors, based on whether the hiring entity controls the work, if the worker does tasks outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and whether the worker performs similar work for other customers. Applies the ABC test to the wage orders, labor code, unemployment insurance code, and, effective 7/01/2020, workers’ compensation laws. Creates seven broad categories of exceptions – occupations and industries for which the ABC test is not applied. A related measure, AB 170, exempts newspaper distributors from these new requirements, but only until 2021.
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1/01/2020,
in general
7/01/2020,
for purposes of workers’ compensation
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AB 9
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Discrimination Claims: Extension of Statute of Limitations
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Extends the statute of limitations from one year to three years for complaints alleging employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). For this measure, “filing a complaint” refers to filing an intake form with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Does not apply to previously lapsed claims. Leaves unanswered whether claims that arose in calendar year 2019 will be subject to a one- or three-year statute of limitations.
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1/01/2020
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AB 17
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Vote By Mail Ballot: Employee Protections
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Prohibits employers from requiring or requesting employees bring mail ballots to work and creates a $10,000 civil fine for violations.
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01/01/2020
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AB 252
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California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: Exemption for Employment-Related Information
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Exempts from the coverage of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) certain personal information businesses gather from employees or job applicants within the normal scope of employment or hiring. The exemption is scheduled to sunset on 1/01/2021.
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1/01/2020
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AB 51
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Waiver as Condition of Employment
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Bans employers from requiring employees or applicants to waive any right, forum, or procedure under the FEHA or Labor Code as a condition of employment. Further prohibits employers from retaliating or threatening employees who refuse to waive such rights. Applies to agreements entered into, modified or extended on or after 1/01/2020. Does not apply to postdispute settlement, or negotiated severance, agreements.
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1/01/2020
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AB 61
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Gun Violence: Employer Restraining Order
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Amends gun violence restraining order law to allow employers, co-workers, and school employees to seek such an order.
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9/01/2020
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AB 673
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Failure to Pay Wages: Remedies and Penalties
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Authorizes employees seeking wages owed to bring an action either to recover statutory penalties against the employer or to seek to enforce civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)—but not both for the same violation. Also makes non-payment of wages under the Barbering and Cosmetology Act a recoverable offense.
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1/01/2020
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AB 749
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Settlement Agreements: Restraints in Trade
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Prohibits employment settlement agreements from restricting a settling party from working for the employer or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate (“no rehire” agreements), unless the employer has made a good faith determination that the person engaged in sexual harassment or assault. Applies to agreements entered into on or after 1/01/2020.
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1/01/2020
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AB 874
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California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: Definitions
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Expands the definition of “publicly available” information that is exempted from the CCPA to include information that is made available from government records. Also amends the definition of “personal information” to include information that could be “reasonably associated” with a specific individual or household, and to exclude deidentified or aggregate information.
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1/01/2020
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AB 1130
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Personal Information: Data Breaches
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Revises the definition of personal information in various consumer protection statutes to include biometric data, tax identification numbers, and passport numbers. Authorizes businesses notifying of a breach to include instructions on how to notify other entities that the breached data is no longer reliable for authentication.
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1/01/2020
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AB 1223
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Protected Time Off: Living Organ Donation
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Requires an employer to provide additional, unpaid leave time, of up to 30 days a year, to an employee who is donating an organ.
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1/01/2020
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AB 1554
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Health Savings Accounts/Flexible Spending Accounts: Annual Withdrawal Notice
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Requires that employers provide two forms of notice to employees participating in a flexible spending account (including a health savings, dependent care, or adoption assistance account) of upcoming withdrawal deadlines toward the end of a benefit year.
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1/01/2020
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AB 1804
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Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Reporting
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Requires employers to report serious injury, illness, or death immediately through an online mechanism established by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health or to report by telephone.
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1/01/2020
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AB 1805
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Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Expanded Definitions for Reporting Requirements
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Revises the definition of “serious injury or illness” in the workplace to remove the 24-hour minimum time requirement for inpatient hospitalization, for reasons other medical observation or tests. Also updates the definition of “serious exposure” as exposure to a hazardous substance that could realistically cause death or serious physical harm.
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1/01/2020
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SB 83
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Paid Family Leave
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Increases paid family leave from six weeks to eight weeks beginning 7/01/2020, and creates a task force to develop a proposal for further job protections, including an increased wage replacement rate.
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6/27/2019
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SB 129
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Health Care Coverage Reporting
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Requires all health care service plans or insurers to report enrollment data for products sold inside and outside of Covered California plans and any other business lines, and to include participant data for certain multiple employer welfare arrangements.
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1/01/2020
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SB 142
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Lactation Accommodation
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Obligates employers to provide a private, safe lactation room with a seat, electricity, and a surface, that is not a bathroom and is in proximity to the employee’s work station. Employers must also provide access to refrigeration or a cooler and running water near the workspace. Creates undue hardship exemptions for certain employers.
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1/01/2020
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SB 188
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Racial Discrimination: Hairstyles
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The CROWN Act expands the definition of prohibited racial discrimination, barring employers from banning racially associated hairstyles in dress codes or grooming standards.
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1/01/2020
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SB 260
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Health Insurance Enrollment
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Requires the California Health Benefit Exchange, beginning no later than 7/1/2021, to enroll an individual in the lowest cost silver plan or another plan upon receiving the individual’s electronic account from an insurance affordability program. As of 1/1/2021, health care plans and insurers must transfer information to the Exchange about individuals who ceased to carry coverage.
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1/01/2021
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SB 530
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Construction Industry: Harassment Prevention Training
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Instructs the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to develop industry-specific harassment prevention policy and training standard. Delays harassment prevention training requirement for the construction industry, until 1/01/2021. Clarifies how employers with multi-employer CBAs may satisfy training duty.
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1/01/2020
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SB 530
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Staffing Agencies, Temporary Workers: Harassment Prevention Training
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Delays harassment prevention training requirement for seasonal, temporary, or other employees hired to work for less than six months, until 1/01/2021.
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1/01/2020
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SB 688
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Failure to Pay Wages: Restitution & Contract Wages
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Extends the authority of the Labor Commissioner to cite an employer’s failure to pay minimum wages under a contract. “Contract wages” means wages based on an agreement in excess of the applicable minimum wage for regular, nonovertime hours.
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1/01/2020
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SB 778
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Harassment Prevention Training
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Amends last year’s SB 1343 to revise the deadline for expanded training requirements of new employees on antiharassment state law guidelines to 1/01/2021. Does not modify the training timeline for supervisory employees, or the threshold requirement that employers with 5 or more employees must provide training.
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8/30/2019
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San Francisco Health Care Expenditure Rate: Annual Announcement
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San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance: 2020 Expenditure Rate
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Raises San Francisco's health care expenditure rate to $3.08 per hour for employers with 100 or more employees and $2.05 per hour for employers with 20-99 employees.
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1/01/2020
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San Francisco Health Care Salary Exemption Threshold: Annual Announcement
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San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance: Exempt Employees
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Provides that managerial, supervisorial, or confidential employees who earn $104,761 or higher are exempt from the HCSO.
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1/01/2020
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