It’s a constant “uphill walk in a wind storm” for us HR Managers to keep up with all the new Employment Laws and regulations every year here in California. With that in mind, either to give you more potential things to worry about, or give you a heads-up on what’s brewing in our newest legislative session, here is a sampling of what’s in the CA legislation potential line-up for 2018.
As you may already be aware, California legislators had until the February 17th deadline to introduce employment bills for this session. Even though there always seems to be a couple of surprises showing up later, we now have a pretty good idea of what is being considered in Sacramento for 2018. But we need to remember, with the Democratic majority in both chambers, there is the possibility of the houses overriding any potential veto action by the Governor so things may be somewhat unpredictable.
These are some of the potential bills and their subject focus already introduced for this session:
- Extend San Jose’s soon-to-be-effective Opportunity to Work Ordinance statewide.
- Require 12 weeks of job-protected parental leave.
- Expand California’s Family Rights Act.
- Prohibit salary history inquiries during hiring.
- Ban-the Box Bill – A.B. 1008 would amend FEHA to prohibit private employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal record or conviction history until after a conditional employment offer is made. There would be limitations per position applied for.
- Veteran’s hiring preference bills to encourage Veteran status job placements.
- Reproductive health discrimination to prevent employers from taking any adverse action because of an employee’s or dependent’s use of a drug, device or medical service related to reproductive health.
- Right to Work – to prohibit employees from being required, as a condition of employment, to contribute financial support to a labor organization or any charity sponsored by a labor organization.
There are also a number of “spot bills” which are basically “a foot-in-the-door”, filed to meet the deadline and then to be detailed later, before the committee votes in April. Some of the topics on these “spot bills’ are regarding FEHA, pay equity, more regulations on meal and rest period issues, immigration protections, and employee privacy rights.
If you are interested in watching these employment bills closely through the process you can do so at: http://www.legislature.ca.gov/
Eileen has practiced HR for over 30 years and has served in both large companies and boutique companies, including Disney, Hasbro, and Umpqua Bank. She currently serves on the board of directors for the EDD/EAC as well as the NCHRA. A Bay Area native, Eileen enjoys visiting Lake Tahoe, reading, and spending time with her family.