California has several new employment laws that will take effect on January 1, 2025, including:

California AB 1008

Privacy and Data Security

  • Expands the definition of “personal information” under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to include formats such as artificial intelligence systems capable of outputting personal information.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 1815

Discrimination / CROWN Act

  • Defines “race” under the Unruh Civil Rights Act to encompass traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 1824

Privacy and Data Security

  • Requires businesses acquiring consumer personal information, including HR data, through mergers, acquisitions, or transactions to honor the opt-out preferences provided to the transferor company.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 1870

Workers’ Compensation

  • Expands workers’ compensation notice and poster requirements to include attorney consultation provisions.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 1976

Workplace Safety

  • Mandates CalOSHA regulations requiring employers to include Narcan in first aid kits. Regulations must be in place by 2027.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2123

Paid Family / Medical Leave

  • Eliminates the provision requiring employees to use two weeks of vacation before utilizing paid family leave insurance benefits.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2299

Whistleblowing

  • Requires employers to display employees’ whistleblower rights and responsibilities prominently, with updates available through a Labor Commissioner-developed model list.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2434

Employee Benefits

  • Adds requirements for associations of employers offering large-group health care plans to small-group members.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2364

Sexual Harassment Training

  • Amends the Property Service Worker Protection Act by increasing the fees employers must pay for sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention training.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2499

Domestic Violence / Crime Victims Leave

  • Expands leave rights under the FEHA for victims of violence, allowing use of paid sick leave for “safe” time purposes and requiring accommodations such as safety measures.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2455

Whistleblower Protections

  • Extends whistleblower protections to reports of improper activities by contractors serving local governments.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2602

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics

  • Renders provisions allowing for the creation or use of a digital replica of an individual’s voice or likeness in employment agreements unenforceable.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2738

Workplace Safety

  • Permits local prosecutors to take action on labor code violations in the live entertainment and concert industries.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 2975

Workplace Violence

  • Requires hospitals to implement weapons detection screening policies by regulations that must be adopted by 2027.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 3234

Child Labor

  • Mandates employers participating in social compliance audits on child labor to link audit reports detailing compliance findings on their websites.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California AB 3281

Discrimination: Immigration Status and Age

  • Invalidates waivers removing protections for immigration status and authorizes civil actions for violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 399

Mandatory Employer-Sponsored Meetings

  • Prohibits employers from mandating employee attendance at meetings to express opinions on political or religious matters.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

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California SB 428

Harassment

  • Expands the employer’s ability to obtain restraining orders on behalf of employees subjected to harassment.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 988

Independent Contractors

  • Introduces the Freelance Worker Protection Act to establish minimum contract requirements and enforce payment deadlines.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/25

California SB 1090

Paid Family / Medical Leave and Insurance

  • Allows claims for State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits up to 30 days before the first compensable day.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 1100

Job Posting / Driver’s License

  • Prohibits employers from requiring a driver’s license in job postings unless driving is an essential function of the job.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 1105

Paid Sick Leave – Agricultural Employees

  • Requires paid sick days for agricultural employees during emergencies like smoke, heat, or flooding.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 1137

Discrimination

  • Expands FEHA protections to include combinations of protected characteristics and perceived characteristics.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 1223

Privacy and Data Security

  • Expands the definition of sensitive personal information under the CCPA to include “neural data.” Applies to employment-related and consumer personal information.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

California SB 1340

Discrimination

  • Permits local enforcement of employment discrimination laws if procedural requirements are met.
  • Effective Date: 1/1/2025

RPLG practices throughout California, advising and advocating for public agencies, nonprofit entities, individuals and private entities in need of effective, responsive and creative legal solutions.