2023 NEW YEAR = NEW LABOR LAWS: California Employment Laws for 2023 Employers Need to Know.

• Author: Terman, Mark E.

2023 saw more people engaged with in-person, positive community as COVID-19 infections and serious cases declined. Yet, last year in our state was also marked with difficult impacts of politics, social media, the economy, divergent weather, wildfires and water scarcity. And, almost as sure as the sun rises each day, regulation of California employers increased too. More than 580 bills introduced in the last California legislative session mention "employer," compared to about 330 bills in 2021.

While most bills did not pass the Legislature, many were signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, bringing more rules and risks for employers dealing with workplace safety, privacy, leaves of absence, anti-discrimination, wages, benefits and working conditions.

Elements of key state Assembly Bills [AB] and Senate Bills [SB] affecting private employers that became law Jan. 1,2023 [unless otherwise noted] follow.

COVID-19 & WORKPLACE SAFETY

COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

AB 152 extended the expiration of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, 2022. No further extension was in effect at the time this article went to press; hut. employers should be on the lookout for that possibility.

This bill also established the California Small Business and Nonprofit COVID-19 Relief Grant Program within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to assist and provide grants to qualified small businesses or nonprofits that are incurring costs for SPSL through Dec. 31, 2023.

This bill makes several changes to the Government, Labor and the Revenue and Taxation codes.

COVID-19 Exposure

AB 2693 provides that employers are no longer required to give notice to the local public health agency in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. Likewise, the California Department of Public Health will no longer need to post workplace information received from local public health departments about COVID-19 cases and outbreaks.

Prior law required that an employer who received a notice of potential exposure to COVID-19 was required to take specified actions within one business day of the notice of potential exposure, including providing written notice to all employees on the premises at the same worksite that they may have been exposed to COVID 19. Until Jan. 1, 2024, AB 2693 changes the notification requirements and authorizes an employer to either provide written notification or prominently display a notice in all places where notices to employees concerning workplace rules or regulations are customarily posted and requires the notice to remain posted for 15 days. Employers also must keep a log of all the dales the notice was posted and allow the Labor Commissioner to access notice records.

This bill amends Labor Code Secs. 6325 and 6409.6.

Illness & Wildfire Smoke

Previously enacted law requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, including a heat illness standard for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees in an outdoor place of employment. There's also an existing standard for workplace protection from wildfire smoke.

AB 2243 requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and its related rule-making process before Dec. 1, 2025 to consider (a) requiring employers to periodically distribute their Heal Illness Preventions Plans to employees, to train new hires accordingly, and to provide respiratory protective equipment to farmworkers subjected to certain levels of wildfire smoke; (b) developing additional regulatory protections related to acclimatization to higher temperatures, especially following an absence of a week or more from working in ultrahigh heat settings, including after an illness.

This bill amends Labor Code Sec. 6721.

Workers' Rights in Emergencies

SB 1044 prohibits an employer, in the event of an "emergency condition," from taking or threatening adverse action against any employee for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace or worksite within die affected area because the employee has a reasonable belief that the workplace or worksite is unsafe. This bill does not apply to 13 worker categories, such as first and emergency responders, patient care workers in a health care or residential facility, employees required by law to render aid or remain on the premises in case of an emergency, and those whose primary duties include assisting members of the public to evacuate in case of an emergency.

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