At the end of a busy legislative session, a new law was enacted imposing a new notice requirement for California employers. The notice requirement applies to California’s existing Domestic Violence Leave Law.
Domestic Violence Leave
The Domestic Violence Leave Law applies to employers with 25 or more employees. The law prohibits a covered employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking for taking time off from work for reasons related to the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Reasons for Leave
Specifically, Domestic Violence Leave may be used for the following purposes:
- To seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- To obtain psychological counseling related to an experience of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including temporary or permanent relocation.
Notice to Employees
The recent change in the law requires employers to inform employees of their rights and protections under the law, including:
- an employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any manner discriminated or retaliated against by his or her employer because the employee has taken time off for those purposes is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits, and equitable relief
- an employee may use vacation, personal leave, or other paid time off that is available to the employee
- an employee is not entitled to take an unpaid leave that exceeds the leave time permitted by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The required notice, to be developed by the Labor Commissioner on or before July 1, 2017, must be distributed to employees at the time of hire and upon request. Notice of the law does not need to be posted in the workplace. Employers are not required to comply with the notice provision until the Labor Commissioner makes the form available. Compliance Poster Company be making the form available on our free labor law poster downloads page once it becomes available. We’ll keep you posted.