New Employment Laws 2025
Whew! Happy New Year everyone! We made it through almost another full year of California labor and employment law developments! It has been a pleasure to help our clients build culture-first, positive workplaces.
As we begin 2025, there are several new state and federal laws that will impact California employers. Read on for a synopsis of some of the most significant changes, most of which will take effect in January. We are offering a free 2025 California Employment Law Update webinar for existing and prospective clients on January 29, 2025 from 10am to 11:30 a.m. PST, which you can RSVP for here.
If your Employee Handbook needs to be updated to incorporate these changes, we have updated policy templates ready to go and can update your handbooks in a fast, cost-effective way.
To keep this email from getting too long, I am going to share some now and a few more in the new year.
SB 1137: Protections from Discrimination Based on a Combination of Traits
This bill amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to explicitly provide employees with protection from discrimination based on a combination of protected characteristics, or intersectionality.
Similar protections exist at the federal level in the form of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pertaining to discrimination and harassment. This change goes into effect January 1, 2025.
AB 1815: Amendments to the CROWN Act: “Hairstyle” Discrimination
This law strengthens provisions outlawing race discrimination based on “hair texture and protective hairstyles.” Protective hairstyles “include but are not limited to such hairstyles as braids, locs, and twists.” This bill is a declaration of existing law, meaning that it applies retroactively. Employers should review their policies, including those pertaining to EEO, dress, and grooming, to ensure compliance with these changes.
AB 2123: No Mandatory Use of Vacation Before Accessing PFL
Employers will soon lose the ability to require employees to use accrued vacation time before they can access state-run Paid Family Leave (PFL). This program provides partial wage replacement benefits to employees who need to take time off to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member, among other permitted reasons. Under prior law, employers could make it mandatory that employees use up to two weeks of vacation before they could access PFL, but as of January 1, 2025, this will be an unlawful practice.
SB 988: Freelance Worker Protection Act
The Freelance Worker Protection Act establishes statewide minimum standards governing contracts between freelance workers and hiring entities. The new law defines a freelance worker as a person or organization composed of no more than one person, whether or not incorporated or using a trade name. The worker must be hired to provide professional services as specified in Labor Code section 2778(b)(2) in exchange for compensation equal to or greater than $250.
Contracts between freelancers and hiring parties must be in writing, and must include specific information such as the parties’ names and addresses, an itemized list of services to be provided, along with their value and rate of compensation, and the date by which the hiring party will pay the freelance worker (or the means through which that date will be determined). This law applies to contracts entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
Keep an eye out for the rest of the new updates.