The California legislature has several employment-related bills under consideration, including a law that would prohibit discrimination against marijuana users, another that would provide protections for employees with safety concerns and allow them to leave work without notice, and a measure that would establish a four-day workweek in the state.

Below are some details about the pending bills.

• Protection for marijuana users. Assembly Bill 2188 would amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act to make it an unlawful practice for an employer to discriminate against an adult applicant or employee based on the “person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace” as well as on failed drug tests that detect “nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in … urine, blood, hair, or bodily fluids.” The bill features exceptions for certain industries (such as federal contractors and licensees as well as the building and construction trades) and does not permit employee use of cannabis on the job. Still in committee, the measure faces opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce.
• Safety during a state of emergency. Employees who refuse to report to or leave a workplace because they “feel unsafe” in the event of a state of emergency or “emergency condition” would be protected by Senate Bill 1044, which would ban employers from taking or threatening adverse action against the worker. The bill defines an “emergency condition” as “[a]n event that poses serious danger to...

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