2024 Developments in California Employment Law

First, California has expanded its paid sick leave laws. Paid sick leave allows employees to take time off to care for themselves or a loved one. Under SB 616, employers must allow employees to accrue at least 80 hours of paid sick leave or grant 40 hours annually. The law raises the minimum number of hours employers in the state must provide. Employers were required to expand their paid sick leave allotments starting on January 1, 2024. If your employer includes sick leave in your paid time off, the employer does not need to provide additional paid sick leave, but the paid time off must meet the same minimum requirements.

Effective January 1, 2024, the state has also raised its minimum wage to $16.00 per hour. Employers must also provide a minimum of 30 minutes for meal breaks. Additionally, workers who fall under certain occupational exceptions must receive twice the minimum wage, totaling $66,650 per year. If you work in computer software, you may fall within the Computer Software overtime exemption, which requires employers to pay a minimum of $55.58 per hour.

Additionally, SB 699 and AB 1076 clarify the state’s ban on non-compete agreements, which prevent employees of one employer from engaging in lawful business with a competitor company. First, SB 699 clarifies that non-compete agreements are unenforceable in California regardless of when, where, or whether the employee signed it, even if it was signed outside of California. If an employer attempts to coerce an employee into signing an agreement, even without intent to enforce it, the employer may be sued. Second, AB 1076 requires a broad construction of the ban on non-compete agreements unless one of the narrow exceptions applies.

Another significant change is an amendment to California’s existing laws that govern retaliation suits against an employer. The previous law assigned the burden of proof to the employee to show the employer retaliated against them. Under SB 497, the burden of proof in retaliation cases shifts to the employer if it fires or otherwise retaliates against the employee up to 90 days after for engaging in protected activity. The employer can still rebut the presumption of retaliation by showing the employee was fired or reprimanded for a legitimate reason. If the employer retaliates against the employee, the new law requires the employer to pay up to $10,000 in civil penalties per employee.

In addition to these new laws, the California legislature has also enacted laws requiring paid leave for reproductive loss such as miscarriage or failed adoption; banning discrimination or retaliation for the off-duty use of cannabis; and requiring employers to adopt a Workplace Violence Prevention Program and maintain a record of every incident of violence in the workplace.

Speak with an Experienced Los Angeles Employment Attorney for More Information

California’s new employment laws may affect your legal claim against an employer. If you have questions about the impact of these laws on your rights or your suit against an employer, contact our team at Hardin Law Group today to learn whether you can take legal action.

An employee is eligible for FMLA leave if he or she:

• Has worked for the covered employer, for at least a year (not necessarily consecutive); and
• Has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately before the leave; and
• Works at a location where at least 50 employees are employed at the location or within 75 miles of the location.

To determine whether your employer has met the above requirements, discuss your situation with an Orange County employment lawyer. If you meet the above criteria for FMLA leave, your employer is required to grant you up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, for one or more of the following reasons:

• The birth and care of the employee’s newborn child;
• Placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
• To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

For a clearer understanding of where the law stands on each of these issues, seek out legal counsel. For more information on your rights under the FMLA, contact the experienced Orange County employment lawyers at Hardin & Associates today.

But what happens when an employer doesn’t believe an employee qualifies for FMLA leave? Can it risk a lawsuit for saying no?

For example, what if an exempt, managerial employee takes all 12 weeks of FMLA leave, plus six additional weeks of unpaid leave, and another four weeks due to health problems in the preceding year yet asks to use his FMLA leave during the current year. Does he qualify even if he didn’t work the law’s requisite 1,250 hours?

Unfortunately for the employer, FMLA regulations effectively presume that exempt employees are always eligible for FMLA leave, at least from an “hours worked” standpoint. The employer carries the burden of proving otherwise. The Act states that ‘In the event an employer does not maintain an accurate record of hours worked by an employee, including for employees who are exempt from FLSA’s requirement that a record be kept of their hours worked . . . the employer has the burden of showing that the employee has not worked the requisite hours.’

Many Orange County business owners don’t keep track of hours worked for exempt employees, which makes it difficult to establish that the employee has not worked the requisite 1,250 hours required by the FMLA. There are a couple legal issues that an employer should consider when it comes to employee eligibility for FMLA leave:

1. The Burden is On The Employer. When an exempt employee’s eligibility for FMLA leave is in question, it is up to the employer to clearly demonstrate the employee did not work 1,250 hours.
2. Is The Employee Eligible? Eligibility is tested every time the employee requests leave for a “different FMLA-qualifying reason.” In other words, if the reason for leave is the same and the employee previously was eligible within the same FMLA year, the employee is entitled to take leave in this instance. However, if the employee requests leave for a new qualifying reason in the same FMLA year, or if it’s for the same reason within a new FMLA year, the employer may re-test eligibility.

For more information on the application of FMLA to exempt employees, contact the experienced Orange County employment attorneys at Hardin & Associates today.

FMLA and your rights as an employee

Federal law, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with fifty or more employees to provide certain employees with flexible leave options. This leave includes allowing up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year to recuperate from a serious health condition, to take care of a family member with a serious health condition, to care for a new child, or to handle certain situations arising from a family member’s military service.

Additionally, employees may take up to twenty-six weeks of unpaid leave if caring for a family member who was seriously injured in the course of military duties. During this qualified leave time period, the employee also remains eligible to any employment benefits he or she was receiving beforehand. An employee is eligible to take FMLA leave in California if he or she:

• has been with the employer for at least a year,
• has worked at least 1,250 hours in the last year, and
• works at a location with at least fifty employees in a seventy-five mile radius.

California Family Rights Act

In addition to federal laws, California has several medical and family leave laws that provide additional protections to California employees. The California Family Rights Act allows employees who work for an employer with fifty or more employees to take up to twelve weeks of leave within a twelve-month period. California law varies slightly from the FMLA in that it provides for leave not only in the situation of an employee or employee’s family member’s serious illness and birth of a child, but also explicitly allows for leave for adoption or foster placement of a child. Additionally, California law addresses same-sex couples and allows same-sex spouses, domestic partners, and the children of domestic partners to qualify as “family members” under state law.

Employee leave of absence policies

California also has a number of other laws that allow employees to take a leave of absence. For example, California law allows employees to take unpaid leave in order to seek a restraining order in a situation of domestic violence against the employee or the employee’s child. Additionally, California employers with twenty-five or more employees must allow employees who are victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault to take time off to obtain services from a rape crisis center or counseling center, plan to relocate for safety, or to obtain medical treatment.

Because a number of state and federal laws apply to medical and family leave, it is advisable to seek the advice of an experienced employment law attorney in Orange County to find out which laws and protections apply to you in a particular situation. Contact Hardin & Associates today for more information.