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WHAT'S NEW IN 2024 EXPANDED PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIREMENTS California Employers Must Now Provide 40 hours or Five Days of Sick Pay

TheHealthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014(Act) requires most California employers, regardless of size, to provide paid sick leave benefits to any temporary, part-time, and full-time employee.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 39 FIRST RESPONDER JOB SECURITY Emergency Service Volunteer Leave Policies

California employers must provide protected leave to employees requiring time off to perform these volunteer civil services:

ASSESSING CRIMINAL RECORDS IN HIRING New Regulations in Effect October 1, 2023

Last week's blog,Helping Criminals Back Into Society,warned employers with five or more on payroll to steer clear of CaliforniaFair Chance Act(Act) hiring practice violations.

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 72 HELPING CRIMINALS BACK INTO SOCIETY

Employer Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District has agreed with the California Civil Rights Department to pay $100,000 to settle an alleged violation of the Fair Chance Act.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 38 BEREAVEMENT LEAVE POLICY

As of January 1, 2023, California employers of five or more on payroll must provide up to five days of consecutive or non-consecutive unpaidbereavement leaveto eligible full-time or part-time employees upon the death of a "qualified family member" (e.g., spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in law), which must be taken within three months of the death.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 37 ALCOHOL AND DRUG REHABILITATION PROGRAMS POLICY

Although current illegal drug use is not protected under California or federal law, employers with 25 or more on payroll must reasonably accommodate eligible employees who wish to enter an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program. See,California Labor Code sections 1025-1028.

VISION PROVISIONEEOC Workplace Guidance to Accommodate the Visually Impaired

TheEqual Opportunity Employment Commission(EEOC) is issuing a series ofguidances, each an extensive manual on addressing a particular workplace disability. The latest isVisual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

RELIGIOUS RULING FAVORS EMPLOYEES Supreme Court Requires Accommodation Unless Substantial Cost Burden

Civil rights laws protect employees from discrimination based on various classifications, including religion. Employers must provide religious accommodations unless doing so would create an "undue hardship." Such accommodation could include such things as time off for religious observance, not working on the particular sabbath, or exceptions to dress requirements.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 36 ORGAN AND BONE MARROW DONOR PAID LEAVE POLICY

California employers with 15 or more on payroll must provide eligible employees with up to 30 business days of paid leave -- and an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave -- for organ donation and up to five business days of paid leave for bone marrow donation. The law permits employers to require organ donors to take up to two weeks of accrued paid sick, vacation or PTO time and bone marrow donors to take up to five days of accrued paid sick, vacation or PTO time.