By Eric D. Morton
I hope you are enjoying the holiday season and you are well. 2022 is drawing to a close. 2023 will see a number of new laws or modifications to existing laws. Below is a brief summary of some of the new laws that will be coming into effect in 2023.
- Minimum Wage. The minimum wage in California will be $15.50 as of January 1, 2023 for all employers. Many cities and counties have higher minimum wages and employers need to be aware of minimum wage for their locality.
- Pay Scale. California SB1162 goes into effect on January 1, 2023. This law requires employers to disclosure pay information and pay scales for each position in their companies. All employers will be required to develop pay scales to comply with this law. The law has different requirements for employers with 1or more, 15 or more, and 100 or more, employees. We may address this law in future newsletters since there are specific items an employer must do in order to comply.
- Privacy Law. Privacy law is an ever changing. California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Utah all have new privacy laws that will be effective in 2023. Each law applies to businesses that process the data of at least 100,000 consumers. That may seem like a lot but a busy ecommerce site can easily exceed that amount. These laws give rights to consumers such as the right to access, correct, delete data and to opt out. The legal relationship regarding data transfer between the European Union and the United States is changing. Any business transacting with European consumers must be aware of the requirements of handling data from the E.U.
- Family Leave. California’s Family Rights Act has been amended. Employees who meet specific requirements can take up to 12 weeks leave for family care and medical leave.
- Bereavement Leave. Employees can take 5 days of unpaid leave related to the death of a family member.
- Covid exposure. Under existing law, employers must notify employees in writing of any potential exposure to Covid-19. Starting January 1, 2023, employers can give written notice or prominently display such notice in the workplace. The posted notice must remain in place of at least 15 days. Employers must keep records of such notices. Cal-OSHA may issue requirements that might alter these rules.
- CalSavers Retirement Plan. Any eligible employer with at least one employee, and do not offer a retirement plan, must offer its employees the opportunity to participate in the CalSavers retirement plan that is administered by the State of California. This is change from the previous minimum of five employees. We discussed CalSavers earlier this year.
- Speak Out Act. A new Federal law will make unenforceable any non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment. California already prohibits such non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements.
The above is only a sample of laws taking effect in 2023. We will focus on a few others or upcoming legal issues in the months to come.
We hope that you have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Eric D. Morton is the principal attorney at Clear Sky Law Group, P.C. He can be reached at 760-722-6582, 510-556-0367, or emorton@clearskylaw.com