California enacts slate of new employment laws

Published: October 9, 2024 | by Emily Scace, Senior Legal Editor at Brightmine

In addition to recent measures involving paid family leave and vacation time and captive audience meetings, several other new bills will affect employers in California beginning in January 2025. The bills address discrimination, language in job advertisements and more.

Discrimination amendments

Several bills alter various provisions in California’s antidiscrimination laws. Specifically:

• S.B. 1137 amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to specify that intersectional discrimination and harassment – that is, discrimination or harassment based on a combination of two or more protected characteristics – is prohibited. Declaring that “where two or more bases for discrimination or harassment exist, they cannot be neatly reduced to distinct components,” the bill aims to address the “amplified forms of prejudice and harm” that can result when “different forms of inequality operate together.”
• A.B. 1815 modifies the definition of race under the Unruh Civil Rights Act to specify that it covers traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles. The existing definition covers traits “historically associated” with race.
• S.B. 1340, an anti-preemption bill, specifies that FEHA does not prohibit cities, counties and other political subdivisions of the state from enforcing local anti-discrimination laws as long as the enforcement meets certain requirements.

Leave for victims of crime and violence

A.B. 2499 expands the scope of the state’s employment protections for victims of crime, abuse and other acts of violence. Leave under the Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) will be allowed for victims of qualifying acts of violence, regardless of whether anyone is arrested, prosecuted or convicted of a crime. Employees may also use the leave if a family member is a victim. Amendments also impact the duration of leave, covered family members, notice requirements and other provisions.

Driver’s license requirements

S.B. 1100 prohibits California 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 believes that:

• Driving will be one of the job functions for the position; and
• Satisfying that job function using an alternative form of transportation – such as a rideshare service, taxi, carpooling, biking or walking – would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.

All of the bills take effect January 1, 2025.