It is that time of year again, when California Governor Gavin Newsom considers a number of bills that need to be signed by September 30, 2024, in order to take effect. Several of those bills would impact California employers, as follows:
- Senate Bill 399 – This bill is called the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act. It is essentially designed to prohibit captive audience meetings. More specifically, if signed, SB 399 will prohibit an employer from taking or threatening to take any adverse action because the employee declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or affirmatively declines to participate in, receive, or listen to any communications intended to communicate the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters. “Political matters” is defined as “matters relating to elections for political office, political parties, legislation, regulation, and the decision to join or support any political party or political or labor organization.” “Religious matters” is defined as “matters relating to religious affiliation and practice and the decision to join or support any religious organization or association.” Many California businesses oppose SB 399, arguing that it would violate the employer’s First Amendment rights and is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act. If signed, we expect that it will be subjected to court challenge.
- Senate Bill 988 – This bill is called the Freelance Worker Protection Act. If signed, it would require employers who hire independent contractors making $250 or more (in the aggregate) to have a written agreement containing certain basic information and to pay the contractor on or before the date(s) stated in the contract, or, if the contract does not specify a date, they must be paid no later than 30 days after completion of the services. It would require the written contract be kept by the employer for at least 6 years and prohibits retaliation against the contractor for taking certain actions relating to the enforcement of the provisions in the bill.
- Senate Bill 1100 – This bill, if enacted, would preclude employers from including a statement in a job advertisement, posting, application, or other material that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless both (a) the employer reasonably expects driving to be one of the job functions for the position, and (b) the employer reasonably believes that satisfying the job function using an alternative form of transportation (walking, biking, taxi, carpooling, using a ride-hailing service, etc.) would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.
- Senate Bill 1022 - SB 1022 would set the statute of limitations for the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”) to bring group or class complaints to seven years, which time is tolled during the time the complaint is pending with the CRD.
- Senate Bill 1299 - SB 1299 would create a “disputable presumption” that a farmworker's heat-related injury, illness or death was caused by their work if the injury developed within a specified timeframe after working outdoors for an employer in the agriculture industry, and the employer must affirmatively rebut that presumption in order to avoid liability through the workers’ compensation system.
- Senate Bill 1034 – This bill would allow the CRD, in collaboration with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, to develop partnerships with local agencies to permit those local agencies to assist with preventing and eliminating unlawful practices under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
- Assembly Bill 3234 – This bill would require employers that voluntarily perform a “social compliance audit” to include certain details in the audit and to post “a clear and conspicuous link” to a report detailing the findings of the most recent audit on their website. Click here for more information about this particular bill.
Stay tuned to the California Labor & Employment Law Blog to see if any of these bills are signed into law. In addition, CDF Labor Law LLP will conduct a comprehensive and complimentary webinar in mid-November to address all the newly enacted statutes and key court decisions of 2024.
