Keenan Briefings

Briefing

New Paid Leave Laws for California Employers

As this year’s legislative session ended, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills which will expand California employees’ rights to paid leave.

AB 2123 Disability Compensation: Paid Family Leave

AB 2123 sunsets the authorization for an employer to require an employee to take two weeks of vacation leave before accessing their benefits under the California Paid Family Leave (PFL) program by specifying that it shall not apply to any period of disability commencing on or after January 1, 2025. According to the Senate’s analysis of the bill, this change will give employees the choice of when and how they want to use any available vacation time in conjunction with their PFL time. Employers that currently require an employee to take any amount of vacation leave before accessing their PFL benefits should amend their written leave policies in compliance with the new law, effective January 1, 2025.

AB 2499 Employment: Unlawful Discrimination and Paid Sick Days: Victims of Violence

This law creates a new protected leave entitlement for victims of violence. Effective January 1, 2025, AB 2499 revises and expands existing statutes protecting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and abuse, creating a new category, giving protections to employees who have experienced or are caring for someone who has experienced a “qualifying act of violence.”

Under the new law, a “qualifying act of violence” includes domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or “any act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that includes (i) bodily injury or death to another; (ii) brandishing, exhibiting, or drawing a firearm or other dangerous weapon; or (iii) a perceived or actual threat to use force against another to cause physical injury or death.” There is no requirement under the law that a “qualifying act of violence” be followed by an arrest or prosecution, which means that employers will often be relying solely on the employee’s report of a qualifying act of violence.

ALL CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS

The obligations of an employer under the law depend on the employer’s size. All California employers, regardless of size, will be prohibited from retaliating or discriminating against an employee because any of the following:

• The employee or a family member’s status as a victim of a qualifying act of violence; or
• The employee taking time off to:
• serve on a jury, with reasonable advance notice to the employer;
• appear in court pursuant to a court order to appear as a witness in a judicial proceeding; or
• obtain a restraining order or other relief to ensure the health, safety or welfare of the employee or their child if either is a victim of a qualifying act of violence.

EMPLOYERS WITH 25 OR MORE EMPLOYEES

Employers with 25 or more employees are also required to allow an employee who is a victim or has a family member who is a victim of a qualifying act of violence to take time off from work for any of the following purposes:

• To obtain or attempt to obtain any relief, including, a temporary restraining order, restraining order, or other injunctive relief;
• To seek, obtain, or assist a family member to seek or obtain, medical attention for or to recover from injuries caused by a qualifying act of violence;
• To seek, obtain, or assist a family member to seek or obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, rape crisis center, or victim services organization or agency;
• To seek, obtain, or assist a family member to seek or obtain psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of a qualifying act of violence;
• To participate in safety planning or take other actions to increase safety from future qualifying acts of violence;
• To relocate or engage in the process of securing a new residence due to the qualifying act of violence, including, but not limited to, securing temporary or permanent housing or enrolling children in a new school or childcare;
• To provide care to a family member who is recovering from injuries caused by a qualifying act of violence;
• To seek, obtain, or assist a family member to seek or obtain civil or criminal legal services in relation to the qualifying act of violence;
• To prepare for, participate in, or attend any civil, administrative, or criminal legal proceeding related to the qualifying act of violence; or
• To seek, obtain, or provide childcare or care to a care-dependent adult if the care is necessary to ensure the safety of the child or dependent adult as a result of the qualifying act of violence.

Workers’ compensation notices include, among other information, who the injured worker should report their injuries to, the injured worker’s right to select and change a treating physician, and certain employee protections against discrimination. The notice content and form are provided by the Division of Workers’ Compensation Administrative Director and available to self-insured employers and insurers.

The maximum amount of leave time an employer is required to provide under this law is 12 weeks. Furthermore, leaves may be further limited as follows if the employee is not a victim and the employee’s family member is a victim who is not deceased as a result of a crime:

• 5 days, when the leave is taken for the purpose of relocating, or engaging in the process of securing a new residence;
• 10 days when the leave is taken for any other purpose under the law.

While the leave requirement is unpaid, the law allows an employee to use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or other paid leave. Leave taken for a qualifying act of violence will run concurrently with any leave allowed to the employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or California Family Rights Act (CFRA).

WORKPLACE ACCOMMODATIONS

The law obligates any California employer to engage in an interactive process to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee who has disclosed that they are a victim, or their family member is a victim of a qualifying act of violence and who requests an accommodation for the safety of the employee while at work. Reasonable accommodations could include the implementation of safety measures, assistance in documenting qualifying acts of violence that occur in the workplace, or referral to victim assistance organizations. Employers are not required to provide accommodations that would constitute an undue hardship.

CERTIFICATION

The law does allow the employer to ask an employee for a certification from an employee seeking a leave or accommodations. Certification considered sufficient under this law includes any of the following:

• A police report indicating that the employee or a family member of the employee was a victim;
• A court order protecting or separating the employee or a family member of the employee from the perpetrator of the qualifying act of violence, or other evidence from a court or prosecuting attorney that the employee or a family member of the employee has appeared in court;
• Documentation from a licensed medical professional, domestic violence counselor, sexual assault counselor, victim advocate, licensed health care provider, or counselor that the employee or a family member of the employee was undergoing treatment or seeking or receiving services directly related to the qualifying act of violence; or/li>
• Any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the qualifying act of violence occurred, including, but not limited to, a written statement signed by the employee, or an individual acting on the employee’s behalf, certifying that the absence is for a purpose authorized under this law.

It’s important to note that any verbal or written statement, police or court record, or other documentation provided to an employer identifying an employee or the employee’s family member as a victim must be maintained as confidential by the employer and may not be disclosed by the employer except as required by federal or state law or as necessary to protect the employee’s safety in the workplace. An employer must give an employee notice before any authorized disclosure.

NOTICE

Finally, employers must provide notice to employees of their rights under these provisions. The notice must be given upon the employee's hire, on an annual basis, at any time upon request, and at any time an employee informs an employer that the employee or the employee's family member is a victim. The Civil Rights Division (CRD) is tasked with developing and posting the form for the notice on its website no later than July 1, 2025.

Keenan is not a law firm and no opinion, suggestion, or recommendation of the firm or its employees shall constitute legal advice. Clients are advised to consult with their own attorney for a determination of their legal rights, responsibilities, and liabilities, including the interpretation of any statute or regulation, or its application to the clients’ business activities.