Hawaii Tuesday, December 15, 2020
As we (thankfully) reach the end of 2020, we wanted to provide a year-end update on recent and upcoming state law developments. Despite the fact that state and local governments had their hands full with the COVID-19 pandemic (and passed many laws relating to that topic, which we will not cover here), they managed to crank out an impressive number of non-COVID-related employment laws.
As always, now is a good time for employers to take a deep breath, look around, assess their policies for compliance, and make any necessary updates to their handbooks, pay practices, and administration for the new year.
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In the spirit of the season and keeping some semblance of normal we are using our annual 12 days of the holidays blog series to address new California laws and their impact on California employers. On this sixth day of the holidays, my labor and employment attorney gave to me: six geese a-laying and SB 1383.
Effective January 1, 2021, SB 1383 will dramatically expand California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave. The CFRA authorizes eligible employees to take up to a total of 12 weeks of paid or unpaid job-protected leave during a 12-month period. While on leave, employees keep the same employer-paid health benefits they had while working.
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As we approach a new year, California employers should take a fresh look at their employee handbook to ensure that it is up to date. Unless it was revised recently, it’s probably outdated. What are the main revisions that need to be made in order to keep up with the times as we head into 2021?
New Family Leave Obligations
The principal change for 2021 is the expansion of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The CFRA now differs significantly from the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in several respects, such that if you have a combined FMLA/CFRA policy you will need to split them apart. Further, if you have no FMLA/CFRA policy because you do not have 50 employees, you will need to have a CFRA policy in the new year as long as you have five or more employees.
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California became the first state in the nation to offer parents Paid Family Leave in 2014. Now, more than a quarter million parents use this lifeline to take care of their newborn babies every year.
Low-income parents, however, are often the least likely to take advantage of paid leave, research shows. California’s new Master Plan for Early Learning and Care is a 10-year blueprint for gradually reforming early childhood and education at a cost ranging from $2 billion to make some improvements to $12 billion to completely overhaul the state’s system.
The report, which was commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, proposes three key ways to bridge the gap between these vital dollars and the parents who need them most. The critical recommendations range from increasing the size of payouts and duration of leave to helping support small businesses while employees are out.