SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With the beginning of a new year, legislation signed into law during this past year is set to take effect and the National Federation of Businesses highlighted some new laws making a notable impact on small business compliance.

“California small business owners are no different from their counterparts elsewhere in the nation in struggling to find qualified employees and in dealing with inflation,” explains John Kabateck, California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

The following bills take effect on Jan. 1, 2024:

• SB 848: This law amends California's Fair Employment and Housing Act to make it unlawful for an employer to deny a request by an eligible employee to take up to five days of reproductive loss leave. Loss events include a miscarriage, failed adoptions and surrogacy, stillbirth, or unsuccessfully assisted reproduction. Leave must be taken within a three-month window after the loss.
• SB 616: This law increases paid sick leave from three to five days. More specifically, it extends paid sick day requirements within the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 and now includes employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement as well as expanding the accrual thresholds for paid sick leave up to 80 hours or ten days.
• SB 700: This law amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to make it unlawful for an employer to request information from an applicant about their prior use of cannabis...

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