New legislation affects everything from family leave to COVID reporting

NEW YEAR, NEW LAWS

With the new year comes a slew of new laws affecting everything from family leave to slavery reparations. On Jan. 1, these laws will go into effect in California. Below is a sampling of what’s in store:

• AB 685: COVID-19 Reporting Assembly Bill 685 will require employers to notify employees and the public of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure within a day of the exposure. Companies must notify their workers in writing, inform them of their benefits and rights, and provide a comprehensive plan for disinfection.

The company also has 48 hours to notify the local public health agency of a workplace outbreak.

Employers who fail to do so risk major penalties. AB 685 authorizes Cal-OSHA to close workplaces that pose “an imminent hazard to employees” due to the coronavirus.

• AB 3121: Slavery Reparations AB 3121 establishes a state task force to study and come up with proposals for providing reparations to the descendants of slaves. The law, an attempt at racial reckoning in the state, will require the task force to meet by June. It will be comprised of appointees by the governor and state Senate leader.

The task force will study the history of slavery in California and its impact on the descendants of those slaves across generations. It will have the power to hold hearings and compel testimony and evidence. From there, the task force will be expected to put forth solutions for redressing that impact. While it’s unknown what the task force will recommend for reparations, this law could have a major economic impact on the state, as well as the lives of families affected by slavery.

• AB 2017: Sick Leave and Kin Care AB 2017 amends Labor Code § 233, which permitted employees to use half of their annual accrual of sick leave to care for a family member, to give employees the sole discretion to designate leave taken to care for a family member as sick leave.

• SB 1383: Family Rights Act Senate Bill 1383 extends family leave protections to employees at smaller California businesses. It also increases the number of loved ones who qualify for protected family leave. Businesses that employ five or more workers will have to allow them to take family leave to care for grandparents, grandchildren and siblings in addition to a spouse, registered domestic partner, child or parent. Lastly, it provides leave related to active duty of a worker’s spouse, registered domestic partner, child or parent.

• AB 2147: Expunged Records for Inmate Firefighters In a year when catastrophic wildfires charred millions of acres across the state and stretched firefighting crews to the breaking point, California passed Assembly Bill 2147. The law will allow inmates who work in prison fire camps a chance to have their records expunged upon release. The law is designed to reward their service by making it easier for them to find employment upon release, especially among the ranks of professional firefighters at a time when California proved to be woefully short.

The bill’s authors contend it could be key in protecting residents in this era of catastrophic wildfires.

“Inmates who have stood on the frontlines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter,” Newsom said upon signing the law.

•AB 2537: General Acute Care Hospital Workers,PPE Requirements AB 2537 requires General Acute Care Hospitals to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers who provide direct patient care services or whose services directly support such care. These employers must also be prepared to report their highest seven-day consumption of PPE in the 2019 calendar year upon request by the applicable regulating agency.

• AB 2992: Expansion of Protections to Victims of Crime or Abuse AB 2992 expands protections for victims of crimes or abuse. Specifically, the bill prohibits employers from taking action against employees who were the victims of a crime or whose family members were the victim of a crime when they take time off following the crime.

Presently, Labor Code § 230 prohibits an employer with 25 or more employees from discharging, discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking for taking time off from work for any specified purpose, including seeking medical attention for injuries caused by the domestic violence, assault or stalking and appearing in court pursuant to a subpoena.

AB 2992 expands employee protections to prohibit an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee who is a victim of crime or abuse for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain any relief. Relief includes a temporary restraining order, restraining order, obtaining psychological counseling, engaging in safety planning, among other actions.

Minimum Wage Increases

California’s minimum wage will increase to $14 for employers with 26 or more employees and $13 for employers with 25 or less employees. Local minimum wages may also increase.