New Labor Code provisions effective January 1, 2019

It is International Worker’s Day, which has its roots in advocacy for the eight-hour work day, and the 5-day work week.  Since the social movements of the Industrial Revolution, California has been on the forefront of regulating wages and hours of work. 

​Today, the California Labor Code contains over 9,000 sections (yes, you read that right)!  And many of the most significant California employment laws are not even codified in the Labor Code, such as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Government Code sec.12940, et seq.).

For this reason, today is a good day to remember some of the new Labor Code provisions that went into effect January 1, 2019.  (Expect to hear more from me in the future as new labor bills wind their way through this legislative session.)

Labor Code 1031 (Expanded lactation accommodation): Requires an employer to make “reasonable efforts to provide an employee with use of a room or other location, other than a bathroom” for lactation accommodation.  The new law also allows employers to use a “temporary lactation location” if the following conditions are met: (1) a permanent space is unavailable because of operational, financial, or space limitations; (2) the temporary location is private and free from intrusion; (3) the temporary location is only used for lactation purposes while an employee expresses milk; and (4) the temporary lactation location otherwise complies with the Labor Code.  In addition, the new bill provides a narrow “undue hardship” exemption for businesses that meet certain criteria.

Labor Code 226 (Right to copy payroll records): This bill seeks to “clarify” existing law by giving a current or former employee the right to actually “receive” a copy of their pay statements.  An employer may charge the employee for the actual costs of reproduction, but an employer may not require an employee to bring a copying device to the workplace and make the copies themselves.   

Labor Code 432.7 (Consideration of criminal history): Currently, California law prohibits the consideration of expunged or judicially sealed convictions until a conditional offer of employment has been offered to the applicant (with some exceptions).  However, due to the nature of third-party background checks, they often return information on allconvictions on a person’s record, even if they are expunged or judicially sealed.  This bill clarifies that an employer may only consider “particular” convictions when rejecting job applicants.

I will be presenting on these new Labor Code provisions and other legal updates at the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) – Northern California Roundtable on May 10, 2019.  SHRM is a wonderful resource and community for HR professionals. I would love to see you there!  In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with your perplexing questions about the maze of California employment laws.