New changes to employment law are coming in 2025! Weintraub Labor and Employment attorneys Shauna Correia and Meagan Bainbridge give you an overview on what you need to know to stay compliant in the latest episode of California Employment News.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.

Shauna

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this installment of the California Employment News, an informative video and podcast resource offered by the Labor and Employment Group at Weintraub, Tobin. I’m Shauna Correia, a shareholder in the Labor & Employment Group here at Weintraub, and I’m joined today by my partner, Meagan Bainbridge. We’re recapping some of the information that we covered at a recent seminar on some of the changes in employment law for California going into 2025. Meagan, what’s one bill that you’ve been talking to your clients about?

Meagan

Well, one bill I feel like I haven’t heard as widely discussed as others is SB 1100, which prohibits a job advertisement posting application or other employment material from stating that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless there is a reasonable expectation that driving is a function of the position and that an alternative form of transportation cannot suffice. Generally, an alternative form of transportation can include, but is not limited to ride-hauling services such as Uber or Lyft, carpooling, biking, walking, that thing. In order to establish one of these alternative forms of transportation does not suffice, the employer should be prepared to establish that the alternative form would not be comparable in either cost or time. It’s important for all employers to review their applications and job postings to ensure compliance with this new bill.

Shauna

Are there any other documents you’re suggesting that your clients review?

Meagan

Well, there’s a slight change to the Paid Family Leave Benefits Act, which employers should probably be aware of. Effective January 1, 2025, the employer’s ability to require employees to use up to two weeks of company-provided vacation before they can start receiving their PFL benefits paid by the state has been eliminated. Employers should review their leave policies and ensure that those policies do not currently require the use of paid vacation prior to receiving any PFL benefits.

Shauna

Okay. Can you give us one more bill that you think is important for employers to be aware of going into the new year?

Meagan

Well, yeah. So, California employers will be required to replace two posters in the new year. Effective January 1st, there’s a new posting requirement with respect to the worker’s compensation notice, which essentially adds language regarding the applicant’s right to an attorney and explains how those attorneys’ fees will be paid. A new posting requirement for the notice also describes employee rights and responsibilities under the current Whistleblower Act. Starting January 1, 2025, employers will be required to post the specific notice that’s been drafted by the labor commissioner outlining these rights and responsibilities. Employers should work to obtain the worker’s compensation notice from their worker’s compensation carrier and then monitor the labor commissioners’ website for its publication of the new rights and Responsibilities notice.

Shauna

Well, thanks, Megan. I appreciate the updates on those items. And please subscribe to our blog, www.thelelawblog.com, for updates on this and other recent California changes in the law and other employment law topics. Thanks for watching this episode of the California Implement News.