California passes a flurry of paid leave, discrimination and job posting laws

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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several labor and employment bills in late September, including two bills that address paid leave and time off in certain circumstances.

Senate Bill 2123 deletes a provision in State Paid Family Leave Act This allowed employers to require employees to use accrued, unused vacation leave before receiving government-provided paid leave.

A separate provision, Senate Bill 2499Amends California law prohibiting discrimination based on an employee's status as a victim of crime or abuse, as a member of a jury, or as a person convicted of certain crimes.

SB 2499 expands an existing law to include a list of “qualified acts of violence” that identifies certain victims of crimes against whom employers with 25 or more employees may not discriminate against for taking leave in connection with such acts. This regulation also applies to employees whose family members are victims of a crime. The law allows employers to provide such leave concurrently with leave provided under the state Family Rights Act and federal law.

That of the state List of qualified acts of violence This includes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and actions, behaviors or patterns of behavior that include:

• A person who causes bodily harm or death to another person.
• A person who displays, draws, brandishes, or uses a firearm or other dangerous weapon toward another person.
• A person who makes or makes a reasonably perceived or actual threat of using force against another person with the intent to cause bodily harm or death.

SB 2499 also expands existing anti-discrimination protections for employees who take time off to serve on a jury, appear in court to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness in a lawsuit, or take time off, to obtain compensation a victim of a qualified act of violence. This regulation applies to all employers with one or more employees.

Both SB 2123 and SB 2499 take effect on January 1, 2025.

Prohibition of intersectionality discrimination

Newsom approved legislation amending California's Unruh Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against individuals in the workplace due to their combination of protected characteristics. The law, Senate Bill 1137, also makes it illegal to discriminate against individuals believed to have a combination of characteristics or those believed to be associated with an individual who has such a combination or seems to have.

Existing California Law indicates protected characteristics This includes race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, gender, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decision-making, and veteran or military status.

Previously, Newsom vetoed it in 2023 A bill to prohibit discrimination based on a person's ancestry, including direct descent, ancestry, ancestry or inherited social status, including caste. Newsom said at the time that the proposal was “unnecessary” and that such features were protected under existing laws.

SB 1137 takes effect January 1, 2025.

Limitations on driver's license requirements when hiring and more

Also in 2025, Senate Bill 1100 is set to take effect, banning employers from doing so require job applicants to have a driver's license in a job advertisement, posting, application or other material unless two conditions are met.

First, the employer must reasonably believe that driving is a job function for the position in question. Secondly, he must reasonably assume that fulfilling this function through an alternative means of transport – such as walking, cycling, carpooling or using a taxi or ride-sharing service – would not be comparable for the employer in terms of travel time or costs.

SB 1100 might be notable in part given the trend toward returning to the office among U.S. employers, a development that is expected to coincide with a return to predominantly car commuting Barriers to Owning and Maintaining a Car that job seekers face.

In addition to the above, Newsom signed a bill addressing contractual requirements for freelancers and a bill banning employers from doing so the obligation of employees to attend meetings or listening to communications “the purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters.”