This year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a number of bills affecting California employers. Major changes in the coming year include:
extending the limitation on confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements to all forms of workplace harassment and discrimination;
limiting employers’ ability to require that employees sign non-disparagement agreements;
expanding job-protected family leave for employees who need to care for the serious health condition of a parent-in-law;
increasing the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA’s) enforcement powers, including adding the ability to issue “enterprise-wide” and “egregious” violations; and
criminalizing wage-theft and increasing the California Labor Commissioner’s power to recover amounts due to the Labor Commissioner under a final judgment.
Unless otherwise stated, all the new laws discussed below will take effect on January 1, 2022.
SB 331 limits restrictions on the disclosure of factual information in a settlement agreement for a claim filed in a civil action or a complaint filed in an administrative action regarding workplace harassment or discrimination (previously only applicable to acts of sexual harassment, assault, or discrimination). The bill also makes it an unlawful employment practice to require an employee to sign an agreement waiving their right to disclose information about...
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