What Do Employers in San Diego Need to Know for 2023

What Do Employers in San Diego Need to Know for 2023 - Business Law

What do employers in San Diego need to know for 2023?  Important new laws are taking effect in California effective January 1, 2023 and they will affect everything from the California Family Rights Act, Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families, bereavement, pay data and job postings (SB 1162) and workplace safety (SB 1044).

New Laws Regarding Leaves of Absence, a “Designated Person,” and Bereavement

Another important section of laws employers in San Diego need to know for 2023 are associated with leaves of absence, a “designated person,” and bereavement.  AB 1041 softens the definition of the types of people an employee may miss work for in order to care for them.  AB 1041 adds a new category now known as a “Designated Person” in addition to a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling.  The new law defines a Designated Person as “an employee’s blood relative or someone who the employee considers as family.”  The “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act” defines this person as “someone the employee identifies at the time he or she request the paid sick days.”  Employers may limit each employee to one designated person per year.

AB 1949 makes it illegal to discriminate or retaliate against an employee who takes bereavement leave.  Employers may request a form of “proof of death” regarding the person who has passed requiring the bereavement leave.  The leave must be taken within three months of the death.

These laws all take effect January 1, 2023

Pay Data, Pay Scales, Job Postings and Labor Contractors

In a previous post regarding SB 1162 we provided a detailed overview of the new law regarding pay data, pay scales, job postings and labor contractors.  This new law provides extensive new reporting requirements for employers, especially those who have more than 100 workers.  The law expands the pay data which must be provided to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Civil Rights Department as well as employee records which must now be maintained throughout employment and for three years following the end of employment.  These records must be available for inspection by the California Division of Labor Standards at all times.

Workplace Safety

SB 1044 also takes effect January 1, 2023 and prohibits any employer from “taking or threatening adverse action” against a worker for leaving work, or refusing to come to work based upon a “reasonable belief” that their place of work is unsafe.  The law specifically prohibits the employer from taking an employee’s mobile device and/or preventing that person from seeking help.  The employee is required to provide notification to the employer of the emergency or unsafe condition which requires them to leave or fail to report for work.

Emergency conditions under the law include “conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons or property at the workplace or work site caused by natural forces or a criminal act,” as well as any related order to evacuate the workplace, the worker’s home or the school of an employee’s child.

There Are Many New Laws Employers in San Diego Need to Know for 2023

There are many new laws employers in San Diego need to know for 2023.  The Watkins Firm has served as business and corporate attorneys for the San Diego and Southern California business and medical / healthcare communities for over four decades.  We work to keep our clients abreast of developments within federal, state and local laws and ordinances to protect our employer clients and reduce or eliminate the risk of regulatory violations or employee-related disputes or lawsuits.

We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *