New California Ban on “Captive Meetings”

Named the “California Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act,” SB 399 prohibits employers from mandating employee attendance at any company sponsored meeting regarding “religious or political matters.”

You may be curious about the need for such legislation.  After all, how many employers force their employees to attend meetings to discuss religion or politics?   The intent behind this law becomes clear when you read the definition of “political matters.”

For purposes of this Bill, “political matters” are defined as those concerning “elections for political office, political parties, legislation, regulation, and the decision to join or support any political party or political or labor organization.”  There it is.

As we all know, most employers in California are not unionized.  And many who do employ organized labor have had long-term, sometimes even “cordial” relationships with their unions.  The need for organizing drives in California is relatively infrequent, and most of you have never experienced one, at least as an employer.  After all, California law provides many of the protections that unions provide in other state states, such as daily overtime, pregnancy leave, and higher minimum wages.

Nevertheless, those employers who are familiar with organizing drives know that one of the tools at their disposal is holding employee meetings to inform workers of certain election-related issues. This is a right that employers have had under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), so long as the employers follow the strict guidelines set forth in the NLRA governing the content of the meeting.

This new Bill, SB 399, now prohibits employers from mandating employee attendance at an employer information session regarding a Labor organization, even if the meeting takes place during work hours and employees are paid for their time while attending.  The law now provides a private right of action for employees, along with damages, injunctive relief, and civil penalties.

There is already talk of challenging this law on the basis of preemption by the NLRA and Constitution.  In the meantime, however, employers should be aware of this new potential ground for claims of discrimination and retaliation.

The New “Freelance Worker Protection Action Act”

SB 988 adds a new section to California’s Business and Professions Code requiring entities hiring individuals legitimately working as independent contractors to enter into a written agreement regarding the terms of such engagement.  The contract must be retained for at least four years and must contain very specific information, such as the name and address of each party, an itemized list of the services to be provided and the rate to be paid for such services, and when the compensation is due (which cannot be later than 30 days after completion of the services).

The new law prohibits requiring the freelance worker to accept less compensation or to provide more or different services or grant additional intellectual property rights as a condition to payment, contrary to the terms of the contract.   It also creates a new ground to bring a private right of action by the worker.

It should go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway, that many companies misclassify their workers as independent contractors or “freelance workers” when those workers should legally be treated as employees.  Remember that California passed a rigid bill in 2020, known as AB 5 (and its corollary, AB 2257), delineating just who may be treated as an independent contractor.   This is just one of many grounds we cover when I conduct my wage and hour audits.  However, if you are working with a true, legitimately classified independent contractor, you must have a written agreement that meets the parameters set forth in SB 988 starting January 1, 2025.

We will, of course, be available to assist in preparing written contracts to comply with the new law. This is just another good reason to conduct one of these audits prior to the start of the year.

Time to Vote!

Election day is looming, and I have been reminding all of you to make sure to vote. But California law requires us, as employers, to remind our employees of their right to vote and take paid time off to do so, if necessary.  Employers must also post a copy of a notice, a sample of which is attached above, under California Elections Code Section 14001.

Section 14001 provides that employees who do not have enough time to vote outside their work hours are eligible for up to two hours of paid time off, so long as they provide two days’ notice.

As we all know, California polls are open on Election Day from 7 am to 8 pm.  But of course, in addition to this, all California registered voters have already been mailed a ballot which they can place in the mail and drop off at a local drop box or at their polling station. They may also vote in person early, and the polls are already open for the November 5th election.

Nevertheless, California law still requires us to post this poster at least 10 days before any statewide election.  If you have not done so already, I would highly recommend you do this.  As you probably already know, in many cases, our employees know these laws better than we do.

It is doubtful that any of your employees cannot find a time to vote outside of their workday next Tuesday, November 5, which is technically Election Day.  But it is their right to vote next Tuesday if they have not done so already.  If on the off chance you have an employee who is scheduled to work an exceedingly long day next Tuesday and comes to you with this request, I would consider it.

Feel free to reach out if you get one of these requests that seems unorthodox (the employee works two jobs, for example). Every year we seem to deal with a few of these.

Just make sure to post the notice, now, if you have not. And of course, make a plan to vote yourself if you have not done so already.