2024 California Labor & Employment Year End Review

Los Angeles, Calif. (February 13, 2025) - The California Legislature was busy on the labor and employment front in 2024. Set forth below is a quick overview of what California employers need to know for 2025.

Protections For Victims of Violence: AB 2499 expands the protections provided to victims of violence by requiring employers to provide time off for employees who are victims of a "qualifying act of violence" instead of victims of "crime, or crime or abuse." The legislation defines qualifying acts of violence as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or any act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that includes (i) bodily injury or death to another; (ii) brandishing, exhibiting, or drawing a firearm or other dangerous weapon; or (iii) a perceived or actual threat to use force against another to cause physical injury or death. Employees can use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off that is available unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement.

The legislation also prohibits employers of 25 employees or more from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim or who has a family member who is a victim of a qualifying act of violence and who takes time off to: 

• obtain a restraining order or other injunctive relief
• seek medical attention to recover from injuries
• seek psychological counseling or other mental health services
• seek or obtain services from a victim service organization
• participate in safety planning
• relocate or secure a new residence - this includes enrolling children in a new school or childcare
• provide care to a family member who is recovering from injuries
• seek, obtain, or assist a family member to seek or obtain civil or criminal legal services
• prepare for, participate in, or attend any civil, administrative, or criminal legal proceeding
• seek, obtain, or provide childcare or care to a care-dependent adult if the childcare or care is necessary to ensure the child's or dependent adult's safety

Additionally, AB 2499 requires the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”) to create a new model form called “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations” which informs employees of these new protections. Once the CRD creates the form, employers are required to either provide the form to their employees or a document that contains information substantially similar to the form to new employees upon hire, all employees annually, at any time upon request, and any time an employee informs an employer that the employee or the employee's family member is a victim.

Paid Family Leave Benefits: Under AB 2123, employers can no longer require employees to use two weeks of their accrued vacation time before receiving Paid Family Leave benefits.

Restrictions on Captive Audience Meetings: SB 399 prohibits employers from discriminating, discharging, or retaliating against employees who choose not to attend employer-sponsored meetings or who decline to engage in communications regarding the employer's views on religious or political matters.

Combinations of Protected Characteristics: SB 1137 amends the Fair Employment Housing Act (“FEHA”) to clarify that individuals may bring claims of discrimination based on a combination of protected characteristics. Protected characteristics under the FEHA include race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decision-making, or veteran or military status.

CROWN Act: AB 1815 modifies the CROWN Act by removing the term “historically” from the definitions of race, thus defining race to include traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.

Driver's Licenses: SB 1100 prohibits employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the employer reasonably expects the duties of the position to require driving and the employer reasonably believes that satisfying that job function using an alternative form of transportation would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.

Whistleblower Notice: AB 2299 requires the California Labor Commissioner to create a model list outlining employees' rights and responsibilities under whistleblower laws. 

Workers’ Compensation Notice: AB 1870 expands the workers’ compensation notice requirement by requiring employers to include information regarding an injured employee’s ability to consult a licensed attorney to advise them of their rights under workers’ compensation laws.

Protections for Freelance Workers: SB 988 establishes protections for freelance workers by requiring hiring parties to provide them with a written contract that includes the names and mailing addresses of both parties, an itemized list of services to be provided, the rate and method of compensation, the payment date, and the date by which the freelance worker must submit the list of services rendered. To qualify as a freelance worker, an individual or organization composed of only one person must be retained as an independent contractor for professional services in exchange for $250 or more, individually or cumulatively, with all contracts for services between the same parties within the preceding 120 days.

Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Reform: AB 2288 and SB 92 - commonly referred to as the PAGA Reform - apply to PAGA notices filed on or after June 19, 2024. The most notable changes accomplished by the PAGA Reform include:

• Standing.The employee who files the lawsuit must have personally suffered the alleged violations. Previously, an employee could file a claim under PAGA even if they did not personally suffer the violation. 
   
• One year statute of limitation. Most employees now must have suffered the alleged violation within one year of filing a PAGA notice with the Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), rather than at any time.
   
• Cure provision. PAGA's right to cure provisions are revised such that an employer will not be liable for any penalties if it has cured an alleged labor code violation. However, the requirements to "cure" an alleged violation are steep. To qualify for the new cure provision, employers must correct the violation alleged by the aggrieved employee, comply with the statutes specified in the PAGA notice, and make an aggrieved employee "whole." An aggrieved employee is made whole only when the employer pays all unpaid wages due under the notice looking back three years plus 7% interest, liquidated damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
   
• Caps on PAGA penalties. There is now a 15% cap on total penalties sought if the employer has taken all "reasonable steps" to be in compliance before receiving a PAGA notice or a records request pursuant to California Labor Code sections 226, 432, or 1198.5. There is also a 30% cap on penalties if an employer takes reasonable steps to be in compliance within 60 days of receiving a PAGA notice.
   
• Relief for employers who pay weekly. Penalties are reduced by one-half for employers who pay their employees weekly instead of biweekly or semimonthly.
   
• Limitations on stacking. The PAGA Reform clarifies that an aggrieved employee cannot recover PAGA penalties for wage claims and again for derivative penalties such as wage statement violations (unless the violation was knowing or intentional) or waiting time penalties (unless the violation was willful or intentional).
   
• Judicial discretion for trial management. The new legislation expressly grants courts the ability to limit evidence or "limit the scope of claims filed," and consolidate or coordinate actions that allege overlapping violations against the same employer in order to improve manageability.
   
• Early evaluation conference procedure for large employers. Large employers (100 employees or more) sued under PAGA may now file a request for an early evaluation conference and a request for a stay of court proceedings before or when they file a responsive pleading or other initial appearance. The request for an early evaluation conference must include a statement regarding the alleged violations the defendant will cure and identify the allegations it disputes. A neutral evaluator will work with the parties to determine whether the defendant has cured the alleged violations.
   
• Cure provision for small employers. Small employers (less than 100 employees) may submit to the LWDA a confidential proposal to cure one or more of the alleged violations within 33 days of the PAGA notice. If the LWDA determines that the employer has cured the violation then the employee then the employee cannot proceed with a civil action.

Minimum Wage Increase. Effective January 1, 2025, the minimum wage for all employers in California rose to $16.50 per hour. Employers must also ensure compliance with local wage rates, which may exceed this amount.

For additional information about these legislative developments contact the author of this alert. Visit our Labor & Employment Practice page to learn more about Lewis Brisbois' capabilities in this area.

Authors:

Jasmine Shams, Partner

Fabiola Martinez, Associate