New California Labor Laws: Are Changes Coming to Your Workplace?

Are new California labor laws bringing changes to your workplace? Have you already seen the new laws take effect at your place of employment? 2020 is said to be a year of reckoning for California businesses with sweeping new California labor laws going into effect to curb longtime employment practices that generate economic inequality and keep the power in the hands of employers.  

Many California companies will be forced to reclassify hundreds of thousands of independent contractors as employees in 2020. Doing so will leave the workers with access to broad labor law protections. Another new California labor law should prevent employers from forcing workers to sign closed-door arbitration proceedings to protect the employer from potentially expensive lawsuits and court proceedings. 

Other notable employment law changes California workplaces will need to embrace in 2020 include: 

A law requiring employers to offer workers a place for mothers to pump breast milk (other than.a bathroom). 

A law designed to make it easier for first responders to obtain workers’ compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

A statute banning discrimination in the workplace based on a hairstyle. For example, Afros, dreadlocks, cornrows, etc. 

A statute that grants organ donors additional guaranteed leave. 

An extension of whistleblower rights and protections to patient rights advocates assigned to county mental health centers. 

The changes to California’s employment law intend to improve job quality for the state’s workforce by addressing day-to-day issues on the job. Look for additional changes to California’s minimum wage law, corporate diversity, and discrimination labor law standards. California leads the way in labor law and is working to prevent employers from going around the set standard.

If you have questions about California labor law violations or how new changes to California labor law may affect you, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in any one of various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.