JASON RESNICK | WG VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL AGRICULTURE & THE LAW
New California Employment Laws for 2019 The Democratic-controlled California Legislature was very busy last year, passing over 1,200 bills, more than 1,000 of which were signed into law by the governor. Dozens of employment and labor bill were signed into law, and several of those were instigated by the #MeToo movement. All of the laws summarized below are effective
January 1, 2019, unless otherwise noted. Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
claim brought in an official forum or through the employer’s complaint process. The new law also greatly expands the legal standard of harassment, including for example, expressly stating that a single incident is sufficient to prove harassment if the conduct unreasonably interfered with the plaintiff’s work performance or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Under SB 1300, employers may be liable for sexual harassment committed by non-employees if the employer knew or should have known of the harassment but failed to take appropriate corrective action. Restrictions in Confidentiality of Settlements SB 820 prohibits settlement agreements from containing provisions preventing the disclosure of factual information related to claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and workplace harassment or discrimination based on sex, including retaliation for reporting such behavior. The law still permits parties to keep the settlement amount and information about the claimant’s identity confidential, if the claimant requests. The new law applies to agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2019. Under AB 3109, parties are prohibited from entering into an agreement that waives a party’s right to testify regarding criminal conduct or sexual harassment in an official proceeding, where such testimony is otherwise required by a court, agency or legislative body. Such provisions are unenforceable in any agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2019. Lactation Accommodation AB 1976 requires employers to provide a private location, other than a bathroom, for employees to express milk for the employee’s child and to afford employees a reasonable opportunity and amount of time to do so. The law expressly states that an agricultural employer is deemed to be in
SB 1343 provides that employers with at least five employees must provide at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training to all non-supervisory employees in California by January 1, 2020, and every two years thereafter. This is a major change from existing law, which required companies with 50 or more employees to provide such training, and only to supervisors. The law also directs the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) to develop, and make publically available, training materials that comply with the new requirements. Employers can direct employees to the DFEH online training materials or use those materials to develop and deliver their own training. The law applies to temporary and seasonal workers. Beginning January 1, 2020, employers are required to provide such training to any employee hired to work for less than six months within 30 days after the date of hire or within 100 hours worked, whichever comes first. “Temporary services employers” (i.e., temp agencies and staffing companies) are required to provide the training to their employees, not the client. Act (FEHA) relating to workplace harassment claims. First, it prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to agree not to sue or bring a discrimination claim under the FEHA in exchange for a raise or bonus or continued employment. Employees also can’t be compelled to sign a non- disparagement agreement or other document that denies the employee the right to disclose information about unlawful acts in the workplace, including sexual harassment, except as part of a negotiated settlement agreement resolving an employee’s Non-Employee Harassment SB 1300 amends the Fair Employment and Housing
33
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2019
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker