PHRca key terms

California's main anti-discrimination law. It bars employers from discriminating or harassing based on protected traits such as race, sex, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation, and requires reasonable accommodation and complaint procedures.

The California state agency that enforces FEHA. It receives, investigates, mediates, and prosecutes discrimination and harassment complaints, and issues right-to-sue notices that let workers file civil lawsuits.

The California test for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. A worker is presumed an employee unless the hiring entity proves all three parts of the A-B-C standard, subject to limited statutory exemptions.

A California law requiring employers with 75 or more workers to give 60 days' written notice before a mass layoff, plant closing, or relocation affecting 50 or more employees within a 30-day period.

A California statute letting employees sue employers on behalf of the state for Labor Code violations and collect civil penalties. Before filing, the employee must notify the Labor and Workforce Development Agency of the alleged violations.

Even though California presumes at-will employment, an employer's words or conduct, such as long-term promises in a handbook, can create an implied contract limiting termination to good cause, as recognized in Foley v. Interactive Data.

A California leave law giving eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member, covering employers with five or more workers.

California leave for employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition. Eligible workers may take up to four months of leave, which can run alongside federal FMLA leave but not CFRA bonding leave.

A California rule allowing employees to use up to half of their accrued paid sick leave each year to care for a sick family member, even though the leave accrues primarily for the employee's own use.

The good-faith, timely dialogue FEHA requires between employer and employee to identify a reasonable accommodation for a disability, including discussing the employee's limitations and available job modifications.

A legal defense to providing a requested accommodation. It means the accommodation would cause significant difficulty or expense given the employer's size, financial resources, and the nature of its operations.

California's 2015 law requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, generally one hour accrued per 30 hours worked, usable for the employee's or a family member's illness, with annual use amounts set by statute.

A California Labor Code provision making it illegal to retaliate or discriminate against an employee for filing a workers' compensation claim or for testifying in a workers' compensation proceeding.

One of California's industry- and occupation-specific orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission that set minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest break, and recordkeeping rules for covered employers.

California rules requiring a 30-minute meal period before the end of the fifth hour worked on shifts over five hours, and paid 10-minute rest breaks for each four hours worked, with premium pay if missed.

When an employee reports to work but is sent home for lack of work, California requires pay of at least half the scheduled shift, no less than two hours and no more than four.

An extra hour of pay at the minimum wage owed to a non-exempt employee who works a split shift, meaning a schedule interrupted by a non-working period other than a meal period.

A California schedule such as four 10-hour days that is adopted by at least two-thirds of affected employees in a secret ballot, letting the employer avoid daily overtime for hours up to the schedule.

California timing rules for paying a departing employee: immediately when the employer discharges someone, within 72 hours for a quit without notice, and on the last day for a quit with at least 72 hours' notice.

An itemized writing California employers must give with each paycheck showing gross and net wages, pay period dates, hours worked, rates, deductions, and the employer's name and address.

A California Labor Code rule requiring employers to reimburse employees for expenses necessarily incurred in performing their jobs, such as mileage, tools, uniforms, and required training costs.

California's state-run retirement savings program for private-sector workers whose employers do not sponsor a qualified retirement plan. Covered employers must register and facilitate payroll contributions unless they offer an approved plan.

California's State Disability Insurance program, funded by employee payroll deductions, which pays short-term wage replacement benefits to workers unable to work because of a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.

California's Paid Family Leave program, administered with SDI, providing up to eight weeks of partial wage replacement to workers who take time off to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member.

A California law requiring employers with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training: two hours to supervisors and one hour to nonsupervisory staff every two years, with new hires trained within six months.

The California Supreme Court decision setting minimum standards for a valid arbitration agreement covering employment statutory claims: an impartial arbitrator, adequate discovery, a written award, all remedies, and no prohibitive costs.

California's law governing labor relations between local public agencies and their employee unions, covering recognition, the duty to meet and confer, and unfair labor practice procedures.

A California statute prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees who disclose suspected legal violations to a government agency, law enforcement, a supervisor, or an internal investigator.

A California law barring employers from asking about criminal history until after a conditional job offer, then requiring an individualized assessment and notice before withdrawing the offer based on conviction history.

A California Labor Code ban on asking job applicants about their salary history. Employers must also provide an applicant the pay scale for a position upon reasonable request.

A California pay transparency law requiring employers with 15 or more workers to include pay scales in job postings, and larger employers to report pay data by race, ethnicity, and sex to the state.

A California statute declaring non-compete clauses void unless narrow exceptions apply, such as the sale of a business, and generally allowing employees to work for competitors after leaving.

A written safety program California employers must adopt under Title 8 Section 3203, covering hazard identification, training, communication with employees, and correction of unsafe conditions.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which sets and enforces workplace safety standards under Title 8 and inspects worksites for violations of those standards.

California's outdoor heat illness prevention rule, requiring employers to provide water, shade, rest breaks, training, and acclimatization for workers exposed to high heat.

A California law, effective July 2024, requiring most employers to create and implement a written workplace violence prevention plan, train employees, and record and investigate violent incidents.

California's repetitive motion injury regulation, requiring employers to identify jobs that cause such injuries and to implement feasible engineering or administrative controls to reduce them.

A Labor Code provision giving employees the right to inspect their personnel files within 30 days of a written request and to receive a copy, with limited exceptions for investigation records.

California's consumer privacy law, as amended by the CPRA, which since 2023 gives employees rights over personal information held by employers, including notice, access, deletion, and correction.