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Chamber Connection SANTA M ARIA VALLE Y CHA MBER MONTHLY NEWSLET TER | DECEMBER 2022
2023 California Employment L aw Update The California Legislature finished up its legislative session with a rush of activity, ultimately sending hundreds of bills to the governor, who, as usual, signed many labor and employment bills that will impact employers in the new year. CalChamber has provided a free white paper detailing these laws, which can be downloaded at https://hrcalifornia. ca lcha mber.com/over v iew/new-2023california-employment-laws. A summary of some of the law updates can be found below. Unless otherwise noted, all laws take effect January 1, 2023. Leaves of Absence AB 1041 expands who an employee can care for under both the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and California’s paid sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA). Currently, both laws allow employees to take leave to care for a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling. Beginning January 1, 2023, employees can also take CFRA leave or paid sick leave to care for a “designated person.” For the CFRA, the law defines designated person as “any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave.” For the HWHFA, the Labor Code was amended to define designated person more broadly as “a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days.” In both instances, an employer may limit
Order Required 2023 Employment Posters The Santa Maria Valley Chamber is offering substantial discounts on these required posters and other employment notices when you order through the Chamber! The Chamber offers state and federal posters in English and Spanish. We also offer laminated posters, and "poster protect", which means we'll automatically replace your poster if any mandatory chaners occur during the 2023 calendar year. To order your poster, email madison@ santamaria.com to request an order form and additional information about the other HR materials the Chamber has available for purchase. We are happy to provide this service to our members to make sure all local busiensses are in compliance by displaying up-to-day state and federal labor laws.
an employee to one “designated person” per 12-month period. AB 1949 makes bereavement leave a protected leave of absence. The law applies to all private-sector employers with five or more employees and all public-sector employers. It allows employees to take up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, defined as including a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner or parent-in-law. To be eligible for bereavement leave, the person must be employed by the employer for at least 30 days prior to starting the leave. Bereavement leave may be unpaid, but employees can use existing leave available to the employee (e.g., vacation, paid time off [PTO], sick leave, etc.). Employers can require documentation to support the leave, which may include a
death certificate; a published obituary; or a verification of death, burial or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution or government agency. Leave must be completed within three months of the family member’s death. Discrimination Two new laws will expand the scope of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): AB 2188 adds cannabis protection to the state’s discrimination law. Specifically, employers will be prohibited from discriminating against an employee or job applicant based on the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. Importantly, AB 2188 doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2024. Continued on p. 2
WHAT ' S INSIDE : DECEMBE R 2022 ISSUE
Month in Review p. 3
Chamber Ambassador of the Quarter p. 4
November Ribbon Cuttings p. 5