Happy New Year! 2025 brings numerous employment law updates, so here’s a quick reminder of the new changes that employers should be prepared for, including:
- Updated employment notices, including the updated minimum wage notice as well as updated whistleblower and workers’ compensation notices plus two poster updates from the California Civil Rights Department — California Law Prohibits Workplace Discrimination and Harassment and Family Care & Medical Leave & Pregnancy Disability Leave.
- Revision and expansion of leave for victims of crimes and other acts of violence.
- A new law restricting employer speech related to religious or political matters. While the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Restaurant Association have filed a lawsuit challenging the law for violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and because it is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, it’s important to note that the law is still in effect while litigation is pending.
- State and local minimum wage updates.
- Local ordinance updates.
And that’s not all — new laws, regulations and court decisions affected additional areas of employment law. For CalChamber members, CalChamber’s employment law experts have updated HRCalifornia library content, forms, checklists, Q&As, local ordinances and tools for those new laws.
For instance, HRCalifornia has an Employer Political/Religious Meetings and Communications — Opt Out form (with instructions). Employers may use this form to record an employee’s affirmative declination of participating in employer-sponsored meetings and/or other communications that the purpose of which is to express the employer’s opinion on political or religious matters.
And our Local Minimum Wage, Paid Sick Leave and Other Employment Ordinances chart has been updated with all the January 1 local minimum wage changes.
So, grab some coffee and start reviewing all these new developments. Look in our content for the flags that indicate new 2025 laws or important court rulings.
Want to learn about the new laws’ requirements directly from CalChamber’s compliance experts? Register now for our annual January Employment Law Updates seminars, which will provide expert analysis, clear explanations of compliance obligations, and a comprehensive review and discussion of recent state and federal laws and regulations.
Happy 2025!
James W. Ward, J.D., Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor, CalChamber
Review our free New 2025 Labor and Employment Laws: What Employers Need to Know white paper (CalChamber members can access the white paper here). Not a member? See how CalChamber can help you.
