Legislative Update: Expanded sick leave for agricultural workers
Agricultural employers will want to be aware of California’s newly enacted Senate Bill (SB) 1105 signed by Governor Gavin Newsom at the end of September. We recently wrote about a slough of newly enacted employment law bills, including Assembly Bill (AB) 2499 which expands the list of crimes for which employees are entitled to take time off and allows employees to take time off to help family members who are the victims of certain crimes. AB 2499 was double-joined (where one bill relies on the other to be effective) to SB 1105, another employee leave bill specifically designed for agricultural employees in an emergency situation.
Sick leave requirements prior to SB 1105: Existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, entitles an employee who works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within one year from the commencement of employment to paid sick days, as specified. Existing law requires an employer to, upon the oral or written request of an employee, provide paid sick days for specified purposes, including the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee’s family member.
Also, existing law prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to use accrued sick days, or to discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using or attempting to use accrued sick days. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to enforce the act, including investigating an alleged violation, and authorizes the Labor Commissioner to order any appropriate relief, as specified, to an employee or other person whose rights under the act were violated.
Existing laws regarding emergencies in the workplace: You are likely aware that in California, every employer has a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. Among other things, employers are required to have a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) with specific elements set forth in the Labor Code and the California Occupational Safety and Health Act. Existing law directs employers to be proactive in the identification of hazards with a focus on corrective actions for addressing these. Regarding emergencies that arise in the course of employment, existing law provides that a person who, after receiving notice to evacuate or leave, willfully and knowingly directs an employee to remain in, or enter, an area closed due to a menace to the public health or safety shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Also, SB 1044 of 2022 was enacted to prohibit an employer, in the event of an emergency condition, as defined, from taking or threatening an adverse action against any employee (except for specified emergency response workers, among others) for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace within the affected area because the employee has a reasonable belief that the workplace is unsafe. This bill also prohibits an employer from preventing an employee, with some exceptions, from accessing the employee’s mobile device or other communications device to seek emergency assistance, assessing the safety of the situation, or communicating with a person to verify their safety.
Effect of the passage of SB 1105: Effective January 1, 2025, this bill amends Labor Code section 246.5 to require paid sick days to be provided to agricultural employees, who work outside and are entitled to paid sick days, as described, to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state emergency, as described. An agricultural employee is defined as a person employed in (1) an agricultural occupation, as defined in Wage Order No. 14 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, (2) an industry that prepares agricultural products for the market on the farm, as defined in Wage Order No. 13 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, or (3) an industry that handles products after harvest, as defined in Wage Order No. 8 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
Employers, let’s get those employee handbooks updated for 2025! Please contact Rosasco Law Group for information on this or any other employment law that needs to be addressed in your handbook.
