California Chamber of Commerce employment law experts have wrapped up their analysis of the employment-related legislation that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2023 and summed it up in the free Your Guide to 2024 California Employment Laws white paper.
These newly enacted laws include leaves of absence, discrimination, workplace safety and more. So, as 2023 closes, take some time to familiarize yourself with the upcoming employment law changes before 2024 is upon us.
For instance, when the Governor signed SB 616, he enacted a major expansion of the state’s paid sick leave (PSL) law, called the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, increasing the amount of leave employers are required to provide from at least three days or 24 hours of PSL to five days or 40 hours.
The bill also raises the cap employers can place on PSL accrual, increases the number of sick days an employee can roll over to the next year and more.
And the signing of SB 553 enacted general industry workplace violence safety requirements that will be applicable to nearly all California employers and take effect July 1, 2024.
Under this new law, covered employers will have several new obligations, including developing and implementing a workplace violence prevention plan either as a standalone document or as part of their required Injury and Illness Prevention Plan, training employees on the plan, creating workplace violence incident logs and complying with various record-keeping requirements. The law applies to most employers, but not all.
In addition to the bills above, this free white paper also discusses:
• A new protected leave of absence for reproductive loss;
• Last year’s cannabis discrimination law, which a 2023 bill (SB 700) also expanded upon;
• A new 90-day retaliation rebuttable presumption;
• The new fast food worker and health care sector minimum wages;
• COVID-19; and
• Much more.
Your Guide to 2024 California Employment Laws is now available for nonmembers to download. CalChamber members can access the white paper on HRCalifornia.
Staff Contact: Jessica Mulholland
