Upcoming Legal Changes

The California legislature has made sure our new year is filled with lots of changes for employers. This is just a quick heads-up about what’s coming. Be sure to update your Employee Handbook or policies accordingly.

• The minimum wage will go up to $15.50/hour effective 1/1/2023. In the City of San Diego, the minimum wage will rise to $16.30/hour. The minimum for an exempt employee in California will be $64,480/year, regardless of how few hours the employee works.


• AB1949 increases the amount of bereavement leave employers with 5 or more employees must provide to employees to 5 or more days for up to 3 months after the death. Employees must have worked for the company for at least 30 days before they can use the bereavement leave. Bereavement leave is unpaid; however, employees can use sick, vacation, or PTO time.


• AB1041 revises the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and California Sick Pay to add a “designated person” as a legitimate reason for taking leave or sick time. This “designated person” is an individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Employers may limit each employee to taking leave or sick time to only one designated person per 12-month period.


• SB1162 applies to all employers to create pay scales for each position in your company. The rules are different for different company sizes. Employers with:


1. Companies with any number of employees must provide an employee or applicant pay scale information for their position if requested.
2. Companies with 15+ employees must include pay scale information for all position postings when recruiting.
3. Companies with 100+ employees must complete a pay data report for all positions by the 2nd Wednesday of every May.


• AB2693 extends employer reporting requirements for COVID-19 notices to 1/1/2024. However, instead of individual employee notices, you’ll have the option to prominently display a notice alerting employees to potential COVID-19 exposures.


• SB1044 prohibits retaliation against employees refusing to report to or leaving an unsafe workplace due to “emergency conditions.” An emergency condition is defined as a natural disaster or criminal act or an order to evacuate a workplace, a worker’s home, or a child’s school. This does not include a health pandemic.


• SB523 amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include “reproductive health decision making” as a protected category. A reproductive health decision is when an employee uses or accesses a particular drug, device, product, or medical service for reproductive health. It prohibits employers from requiring the disclosure of reproductive health decisions as a condition of employment, continued employment, or employment benefits.

Your most important concerns at this time are constructing a pay scale and making needed policy and handbook updates to follow the new laws.