Legal Alert: [IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED] Mandatory California Employer Notice Effective Now

To our valued clients and HR contacts,

This is a time-sensitive alert regarding an immediate compliance obligation for California employers.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) has released its official model notice detailing the rights of employees who are victims of qualifying acts of violence, as required under Assembly Bill 2499, which was codified as Government Code section 12945.8. These “qualifying acts” are not limited to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, but now also include any crime that caused physical or mental injury (such as violent threats, acts involving a dangerous weapon, or any violence causing injury) or the death of an employee’s family member. The law says the notice requirement goes into effect once the CRD posts its model notice, which means employers should begin distributing the notice immediately.

Who Is Affected?

This requirement applies to all California employers, regardless of size.

Additionally, for employers with 25 or more employees, the law’s protections are extended to employees whose family members are victims of a qualifying act of violence. Notably, the definition of “family member” is broad and includes a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner. The term “family member” also includes a “designated person,” meaning any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship who the employee identifies at the time of the leave request. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for leave pursuant to this section.

What Is Required?

Employers must provide the notice to employees in four specific situations:

1. At the time of hire, for all new employees.
2. Annually, to all employees.
3. Upon request, to any current employee.
4. Any time an employee informs an employer that the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim of a qualifying act of violence.

Employers may use the official CRD model notice or create their own notice, provided it is substantially similar in content and clarity.

Employers have an obligation to provide this notice in languages other than English in certain situations. Under California law, if at least 10% of your workforce at a particular location speaks a language other than English, you are generally required to provide required notices, like this one, in that language. The CRD simplifies this for employers by providing the model notice in numerous languages on its website.

What Does the Notice Cover?

The notice informs employees of their rights to job-protected leave and reasonable workplace safety accommodations. These rights apply when an employee is a victim of a qualifying act of violence, including but not limited to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other crimes that result in physical or mental injury, or the death of an employee’s family member.

The notice covers an employee’s right to:

• Take leave for medical treatment, psychological counseling, safety planning, and legal proceedings. Employees may elect to use any available vacation, personal leave, or paid sick time for this leave
• Request reasonable safety accommodations in the workplace. Employers must engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to determine effective accommodations. Accommodations can be denied only if they pose an undue hardship.
• Be protected from retaliation for exercising these rights.
• Have employers keep information about an employee’s status as a victim and their requests for leave or accommodations confidential, with limited exceptions.

The notice must also explain that employees may be eligible for:

• Wage Replacement: If the leave is taken for a serious health condition (either their own or a family member’s), employees may be able to receive wage replacement benefits through state programs like State Disability Insurance or Paid Family Leave.
• Bereavement Leave: Family members of a deceased victim may be entitled to both leave under this law and traditional bereavement leave under California’s separate bereavement leave law.
• Other Crime Victim Leave: The notice must also inform employees of their potential eligibility for other leaves available to crime victims under the California Labor Code, including specific rights under Sections 230.2 and 230.5.

Next Steps for Employers

To ensure immediate compliance, we recommend the following steps:

1. Download the CRD Model Notice.
2. Incorporate the notice into your new hire onboarding packets.
3. Be prepared to provide the notice to current employees upon request.
4. Train managers and HR personnel on the new requirement, to ensure proper handling of employee requests.

Hoge Fenton’s Employment Law Team is here to help you navigate these new obligations. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions about implementing this notice or updating your employee handbooks and policies.