Below are five new laws going into effect in 2015 that California employers should know about before the start of 2015. Employers should also take time and review their current policies to ensure compliance for the new year.

1. Mandatory paid sick leave.
You’ve probably been beaten over the head from emails from your employment lawyer already about this new law, so I won’t rehash the particulars. If you need more information, see my prior post.

2. Must revise sexual harassment training to include anti-abusive conduct training.
This is a simple revision to sexual harassment training should be implemented into any sexual harassment training. For more information, see my prior post here.

3. Undocumented workers’ driver’s licenses: immigration and confidentiality issues.
Last year, California passed AB 60 that allows undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license. This year, AB 1660 was passed to clarify some issues left unresolved by AB 60, and to provide greater rights to immigrants who present a driver’s license to employers that was obtained without establishing citizenship. The California DMV will begin issuing driver’s licenses under the new law on January 1, 2015. These licenses will be marked with the term “federal limits apply” on the front of the license. Therefore, employers must be aware that these licenses cannot be used to establish eligibility to work when completing the Form I-9. Once the new licenses are issued, employers should train the individuals regarding the different licenses and which licenses can be used to verify eligibility to work in the U.S. when completing the I-9. In addition, the new law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees who present these licenses for employment purposes.
Finally, employers must be aware that the new law also makes driver license information obtained by the employer “private and confidential.” Therefore, employers should take steps to ensure that this information is treated with the same safeguards as other confidential information.

4. Joint liability for employers who contract with outside companies for workers.
AB 1897 automatically makes an employer jointly liable with a labor contractor, such as an employment agency, for wage and workers’ compensation violations. The law exempts some companies from this joint liability, such as companies with fewer than 25 employees, or businesses with five or fewer workers supplied by a labor contractor. With this new potential liability, employers need to carefully review the contractors who provide workers for their companies. While companies cannot contract around the provisions of the new law, companies can enter into indemnification agreements with the staffing agencies to mitigate some of the risk. Companies should audit the staffing agencies they work with to insure they are compliant with the law, and should consider asking for indemnification from the staffing agency should there be any wage and hour violations.

5. Employers may utilize email to report serious injuries.
Under existing law, employers are required to file a report with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), every occupational injury or illness which results in lost time beyond the date of injury or illness, or which requires medical treatment beyond first aid. Employers are required to immediately report a serious injury or illness, or death at the workplace to DOSH. The prior law permitted employers to make these reports by telephone or telegraph. AB 326 updates the law to allow employers to make the reports by telephone or email. This is not a major change in the law, and one to make it easier for employers, but a good reminder for employers to review injury protocols in the workplace and ensure that these reports are being made to DOSH when required. Failure to do so could result in a $5,000 fine.