Aunt Ann’s labor attorney, Lisa Weinberger fills you in on the most recent updates regarding employment law in California. Below you’ll find updated information pertaining to minimum wage, mileage rates, and more.
INCREASED MINIMUM WAGE, SALARY BASIS THRESHHOLD, AND IRS MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT RATES
As of January 1, 2025, please be aware of the following increases:
Minimum Wage
In California, the minimum wage for all employers will be $16.50 per hour.
Please keep in mind that many cities and counties throughout California have local minimum wages that are higher than what the state of California requires. Most local minimum wage ordinances increase in July, but some go up on January 1st, including these cities (not an exhaustive list): Burlingame ($17.43), Los Altos ($18.20), Menlo Park ($17.10), Oakland ($16.98), Palo Alto ($18.20), Redwood City ($18.20), City of San Diego ($17.25), City of San Mateo ($17.95), County of San Mateo (unincorporated areas) ($17.46), City of Sonoma for employers with less than 26 employers ($16.96), South San Francisco ($17.70), and West Hollywood ($19.65).
Please keep in mind that employees are entitled to be paid the minimum wage for any jurisdiction where they work – this means that for any employee who works remotely from a home office (or elsewhere), the minimum wage in that jurisdiction may be higher than the minimum wage at their regular place of employment.
Salary Basis for Exempt Employees
In order for California employees to be properly classified as exempt (which means that they are not entitled to overtime pay), they must be paid on a salary basis and that salary must be at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time work. As such, each time the state minimum wage increases, the salary basis increases, as well. With this in mind, in order for a California employee to be classified as an exempt employee in 2025, he or she must be paid a salary of at least $68,640.
*Please note: in order for employee to be properly classified as an exempt employee, in addition to meeting the salary basis threshold, the employee must also meet the other criteria for the relevant exemption. These are fact-specific inquiries and should often be made with the advice of counsel.
Mileage Reimbursement Rate
The business mileage reimbursement rate for 2025 will be 70 cents per mile.
DISCRIMINCATION LAW UPDATES
Employers should be aware of three updates to discrimination laws:
- California is the first jurisdiction to explicitly adopt the concept of intersectionality in its discrimination laws, clarifying that discrimination can happen based on a combination of protected characteristics. While the law itself is broad and does not apply to only certain combinations of protected characteristics, the law specifically notes that there are “interlocking forms of discrimination and harassment experienced by individuals in the workplace and throughout society, particularly Black women, as compared to Black men and White women.” As such, California law now expressly protects any combination of protected characteristics from discrimination.
- In 2020, the state of California broadened the scope of race discrimination claims by prohibiting discrimination based on “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.” This year, the law is being updated to remove the term “historically” and expand the protection to traits associated with race beyond only hair texture and protective hairstyles.
- California employers are now prohibited from requiring job applicants to provide a driver’s license unless the employer reasonably expects driving to be one of the job functions and no alternative forms of transportation would be feasible.
NEW PROTECTIONS FROM CRIME VICTIMS + SICK LEAVE EXPANSION
Governor Newsom signed a bill into law that reframes and expands existing workplace protections for employees who are victims of crime or abuse. The new law redefines who is entitled to protection, broadens the reasons requiring protected time off, and moves enforcement authority to the state’s Civil Rights Department.
Employers are now required to provide time off for victims of “qualifying acts of violence” (“QAV”), which is defined as:
- domestic violence;
- sexual assault;
- stalking; or
- any act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that includes (i) bodily injury or death to another; (ii) brandishing, exhibiting, or drawing a firearm or other dangerous weapon; or (iii) a perceived or actual threat to use force against another to cause physical injury or death.
In addition, employers are prohibited from retaliating or discriminating against employees who participate in the legal process. Specifically, employers cannot discharge or discriminate against an employee in any manner for any of the following:
- taking time off to serve as required by law on a jury, so long as the employee gives reasonable advance notice to the employer;
- taking time off to appear in court to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness in any judicial proceeding; or
- taking time off to obtain or attempt to obtain a restraining order or other injunctive relief, to help ensure the health, safety, or welfare of the employee or their child where the employee is a victim of a QAV.
Employers are also prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against employees because of the employee’s status or their family member’s status as a victim of a QAV.
Notably, California’s paid sick leave law has been amended to reflect the new protections for crime victims. Employees may now use sick leave to assist any family member who is a victim of certain types of violent incidents or threats of violence. California has updated its Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions, which address the expanded reasons for use of California paid sick leave that are detailed here.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN
Effective July 1, 2024, nearly all California employers will be required to develop and implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”), which can either be a standalone document or integrated into the required Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. Of particular relevance to my clients, two of the four exceptions to this law apply to (1) employees teleworking from a location of the employee’s choice, or (2) places of employment where fewer than 10 employees are working at the place at any given time and are not accessible to the public.
For those employers who will be covered under this new law, the WVPP requirements are comprehensive, addressing 13 different topics. Employers will also have extensive recordkeeping and training obligations. We are hopeful that more information about the WVPP will be forthcoming within the next six months, but in the meantime, affected employees should consult with counsel to discuss compliance with this new law.
CAPTIVE MEETINGS BAN
Under the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act, California employers may not discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against, or threaten to carry out such actions, because an employee refused to attend any employer-sponsored meeting related to religious matters, political matters, or matters related to the decision to support or not support a labor organization/union.
This law was set to go into effect on January 1, 2025. However, on New Year’s Eve a lawsuit was filed in federal court by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Restaurant Association, contending that the law violates companies’ rights to free speech and equal protection under the 1st and 14th Amendments. The suit asks the courts to block the law from going into effect. To the extent you hold, or intend to hold, such types of employer-sponsored meetings, please consult with counsel to ensure you are up to date on the status of this law.
FREELANCE WORKER PROTECTION ACT
Last year, the City of Los Angeles enacted a local law to protect independent contractors. This year, a new state law will go into effect, known as the “Freelance Worker Protection Act,” which provides similar protections to freelancers throughout California.
Under this new statewide law, hiring parties are required to provide a signed copy of a written contract (either physically or electronically) to the freelance worker and keep a copy of the contract for at least four years. The written contract must include, at minimum, the following information:
- the name and address of each party;
- an itemized list of all services that will be provided, including the value of those services and the rate and method of compensation;
- the date the hiring party will pay the compensation or how the date will be determined; and
- the date by which the freelance worker will submit a list of services rendered under the contract to the hiring party to meet the hiring party’s internal deadlines for timely payment of compensation.
NEW BACKGROUND CHECK LAWS
In keeping with the recent proliferation of fair chance legislation at the state and local levels, please note that there have been two new jurisdictions that have enacted background check laws – unincorporated areas in both Los Angeles County and San Diego County. If you have employees in unincorporated areas of either county, please click on the appropriate link to familiarize yourself with the new restrictions.
MANDATORY RETIREMENT PROGRAM REGISTRATION FOR SMALL EMPLOYERS
Several years ago, California implemented a retirement savings program called CalSavers, which is available to California workers whose employers do not offer a workplace retirement plan. Such individuals have the opportunity, through this program, to contribute to an IRA. The state has required employers of different sizes to register for this program over time, with the smallest employers’ deadline approaching at the end of this year.
Subject to very narrow exemptions, all California employers are required to register for CalSavers by December 31, 2025, either to facilitate their employees’ access to the CalSavers program, or to certify as exempt if they already offer their own retirement plan. Information on how to register can be found here.
POSTING REQUIREMENTS
The California Labor Commissioner is now required to create a model list of employees’ rights and responsibilities under the state’s whistleblower laws, and all California employers are required to post the model list prominently in the workplace. The model document is available here.
In addition, California employers subject to the workers’ compensation system are already required to post easily understandable notices in the workplace advising employees of their rights when they sustain a workplace-related injury. The notice must be posted in both English and Spanish, where Spanish-speaking employees are present. A new law now requires that employers add information regarding an employee’s right to consult a licensed attorney to advise them of their rights under workers’ compensations laws on the notice, and further specifies that the notice states that in most instances, the attorney’s fees will be paid from an injured employee’s recovery.
WILDFIRE-RELATED NOTICES
Last year, I reported that the Wage Theft Notices that are required to be provided to non-exempt employees at the time of hire had been updated to include a section advising employees on “the existence of a federal or state emergency or disaster declaration applicable to the county or counties where the employee is to be employed, and that was issued within 30 days before the employee’s first day of employment, that may affect their health and safety during their employment.”
For employers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, employers must notify new hires on page 2 of the Wage Theft Notice starting within 30 days of January 7, 2025, about the wildfire emergency proclamation if it could impact their health and safety.
REMINDERS
Last year, notice was provided about a new law that requires most California employers to create, implement, maintain, and train employees on a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan. If this applies to you and you have not yet done it, consider this your reminder! Additional information about this requirement can be found here.
In addition to the legislative updates that Lisa Weinberger reports on each year, judicial opinions are published every day, many of which can have an impact on how documents or policies are drafted or enforced. It is always a good idea to have counsel review your standard forms (employment agreements, confidentiality agreements, arbitration agreements, etc.) regularly to make sure that they do not require any updates.
All California employers with 5+ employees are required to have their teams participate in sexual harassment training every two years. If you haven’t gotten around to this recently, please put it on your list of things to take care of in Q1.
If you want to make sure that you haven’t missed anything important over the last few years, you can find Lisa Weinberger’s Newsletter archives here.
ACTION ITEMS
In order to remain in compliance with all legal updates, please consult with counsel to take the following actions:
- Ensure that all employees are earning at least the current minimum wage;
- Ensure that all exempt employees are earning at least the increased salary basis threshold;
- Update employee handbooks, employment agreements, and policies, as applicable, to revise or prepare policies relating to: discrimination, crime victims, paid sick leave, and pregnant and postpartum employees;
- Review any job postings to ensure that they do not require a driver’s license (unless the legal standard is satisfied);
- Confirm that all background check policies are compliant with applicable law;
- Prepare or revise agreements for all freelancers (and, as always, make sure that all freelancers are properly classified); and
- Post updated workplace notices.