Alyson Claire Law, Prof. Corp. reposted this
California employers with 25 or more employees already know that employees may take time off from work to seek medical attention for injuries caused by crime or abuse, receive services from a domestic violence shelter, program, rape crisis center, or victim services organization or agency as a result of crime or abuse, receive psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of crime or abuse, or participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future crime or abuse. And most California employers are also aware that employees can take time off to obtain a temporary restraining order for a crime involving abuse or injury or to attend judicial proceedings related to a serious or violent felony. But these so-called “violence” leave laws are somewhat patchworked together and can be confusing. Which is why we now have AB 2499, which aims to clarify and combine these various laws into one law under FEHA (the Fair Employment and Housing Act) as well as add some additional protections. The key things to note in this new omnibus rule are: · A new term of “qualifying acts of violence” which is defined as: (1) domestic violence; (2) sexual assault; (3) stalking; or (4) conduct that involves bodily injury, death, using (including brandishing) a firearm or dangerous weapon, or threats of physical injury of death. And no one has to be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for there to be a qualifying act of violence. · All employers, regardless of size, are prohibited from retaliating or discriminating against an employee because of their, or their family member’s, status as a victim of qualifying acts of violence. Or for being on a jury or testifying as a subpoenaed witness in a judicial proceeding. · Employers with 25 or more employees will still have to provide all of the violence related leaves they are currently required to provide, but now they will also have to provide leave, in certain circumstances, to employees who have family members (children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, or designated persons) who are victims of qualifying acts of violence. The ten expanded types of leave and the potential lengths of these leaves are fairly detailed and can’t be easily summarized, so make sure you look carefully at the new Section 12945.8 of the California Government Code. · A new workplace notice regarding these rights for victims of violence will be coming out sometime next year (from the California Civil Rights Department) and all employers will be required to provide this to new hires, once annually, upon request, and upon learning that an employee or their family member is a victim of a qualifying act of violence. Okay, so maybe AB 2499 doesn’t exactly make compliance “easier” for employers, so if you need some help updating and implementing your leave policies for 2025, reach out and let’s chat. Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash