Now that California's 2023 legislative session has closed and the governor's October 14 deadline to sign or veto new legislation has passed, California employers should take note of a handful of new California laws that will go into effect in 2024. Here we offer a short overview of the key new employment laws that employers should be aware of. Unless otherwise noted, all laws discussed will become effective on January 1, 2024.
Last year, AB 2188 amended California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) effective January 1, 2024, to prohibit adverse employment actions based on off-duty marijuana use that does not affect job performance. Specifically, effective January 1, 2024, it will be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment based upon (1) a person's use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace, or (2) an employer-required drug screening that has found an employee to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.
SB 700 expands employee protection by also prohibiting employers from requesting information from an applicant relating to their prior use of cannabis or using information obtained about a person's prior cannabis use obtained from the person's criminal history, unless one of the limited exceptions set forth in California Government Code Section 12952(d) is met. Such exceptions...
Grace Kang has worked as an attorney specializing in intellectual property and business law for 20 years, the last 16 in the greater Los Angeles area. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she said h...