New Hire Notice Changes in California Effective January 1, 2024
Happy New Year! I wanted to take a moment to quickly update you on an updated new hire requirement in California effective January 1, 2024. Enclosed in this message is a link to a template you can use to comply with these changes.
Under Labor Code section 2810.5, which became effective as a result of the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011, most private sector California employers must provide non-exempt employees with written notice regarding certain working conditions including pay and sick leave at the time of hire, and at any time those things change.
Following the passage of SB 616 and AB 636 earlier this year, starting January 1, 2024, employers must update their wage theft notices to indicate whether there is a “federal or state emergency or disaster declaration applicable to the county or counties where the employee is to be employed, and that was issued within 30 days before the employee's first day of employment, that may affect their health and safety during their employment."
The portion of the notice addressing employee rights to accrue and use paid sick leave without retaliation must also be updated to reflect the increase to 5 days or 40 hours every 12 months (up from 3 days or 24 hours) under state law as amended by SB 616.
The Labor Commissioner has historically provided an optional notice template that employers can use to comply with wage theft notice requirements, and recently published an updated form that conforms to the requirements taking effect in January. Presently this template is only available in English, but it will likely be posted in other languages soon on the Labor Commissioner’s website, as these notices must be provided in the language that the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee. The website additionally includes a helpful FAQ page regarding the employee notice that may be updated in the coming months as well.
If you have any questions regarding Wage Theft Prevention Act compliance, feel free to contact us at wilder@clementsemploymentlaw.com.