We are already well in to 2019 and 2018 seems like a distant memory. As new laws are changing, we tend to forget about what laws were pushed out the years prior. Listed below is a summary of the most impactful changes from 2018:
- Wage Increases in California (SB 3)
Below is a chart of the wage increases and what’s to come in future years:
| Date | Minimum Wage for Employers 25 or Less Employees | Minimum Wage for Employers 26 or More Employees |
| January 1, 2017 | $10.00/hour | $10.50/hour |
| January 1, 2018 | $10.50/hour | $11.00/hour |
| January 1, 2019 | $11.00/hour | $12.00/hour |
| January 1, 2020 | $12.00/hour | $13.00/hour |
| January 1, 2021 | $13.00/hour | $14.00/hour |
| January 1, 2022 | $14.00/hour | $15.00/hour |
| January 1, 2023 | $15.00/hour |
- Salary History (AB 168)
Applies to all employers and prohibits inquiries into, and reliance on, an applicant’s salary history.
- “Ban the Box” (AB 1008)
The Fair Chance Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, is a California law that generally prohibits employers of more than 5 employees from asking about your conviction history before making you a job offer. This type of law is also known as a “Ban the Box” law.
- Parental Leave (SB 63)
the New Parent Leave Act (NPLA) helped to widen the scope of the CFRA, allowing eligible employees, working at companies with 20 to 49 employees in a 75-mile radius, up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to bond with a new child.
- Immigration (AB 450)
Prohibits employers from allowing federal immigration enforcement officials to access non-public areas of a work place without a judicial warrant.
- Workplace Safety: Cleaning Product Data (SB 258)
Provides that employers required to maintain safety data sheets must also make information available about certain consumer cleaning products.
- Construction Contractors (AB 1701)
Certain contractors must assume and are liable for unpaid wages, benefits, or contributions owed by subcontractors.
- Antidiscrimination: Gender, Identity, Gender Expression, Sexual Orientation (SB 396)
Requires employers with 5+ employees to post notice regarding transgender rights. Also requires employers with 50+ employees to provide training addressing harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
*** SB 1343 requires covered employers to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training and education to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of such training to all non-supervisory employees in California, by January 1, 2020. Training and education must be provided once every two years thereafter, as specified under the new law.***
