In 2025, California is continuing to spearhead efforts to expand employees’ rights. Assembly Bill 2499 (AB 2499), Assembly Bill 2123 (AB 2123), and Senate Bill 1090 (SB 1090) are prime examples of these efforts, providing employees with new and expanded benefits when going on leave. Whether they are caring for an ill family member or were a victim of an act of violence, employees in California are now entitled to more inclusive leave benefits as a result of these new laws.
AB 2499
Enacted on September 29, 2024, AB 2499 was created to broaden the protections afforded to victims of violence. Before AB 2499, employees were only afforded protection from discrimination or retaliation for taking time off as a victim of crime or abuse. AB 2499 expands these protections, providing employees the additional benefit of taking time off to assist a family member in obtaining relief or caring for a family member who was a victim of certain qualifying acts. The type of time off is not limited strictly to vacation time, as employees may also utilize personal leave and paid sick leave.
The relevant qualifying acts of violence are as follows:
A. Domestic violence
B. Sexual assault
C. Stalking
D. An act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that includes any of the following:
i. In which an individual causes bodily injury or death to another individual.
ii. In which an individual exhibits, draws, brandishes, or uses a firearm, or other dangerous weapon, with respect to another individual.
iii. In which an individual uses, or makes a reasonably perceived or actual threat to use, force against another individual to cause physical injury or death.
The bill also moves these leave protections from being under the Labor Code to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Thus, any violation of these protections is addressed by the California Civil Rights Department as opposed to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
AB 2123
Enacted on September 29, 2024, AB 2123 removes employers’ ability to require employees use accrued vacation time before they begin receiving paid family leave insurance benefits under California’s Paid Family Leave program. The Paid Family Leave (PFL) program is operated by California’s Employment Development Department. Under the PFL program, employees may receive wage benefits for taking leave for the following reasons:
- To bond with a newborn or newly adopted child;
- To care for a seriously ill family member; or
- To support a military family member deploying to a foreign country.
The amount of paid leave may extend up to eight weeks within a 12-month period.
Before the adoption of AB 2123, employers could require employees to utilize two consecutive weeks of accumulated vacation time before being using their paid family leave benefits. AB 2123 eliminated this requirement, and it allows employees to access their paid family leave benefits as soon as they need them.
This change gives employees the flexibility to preserve vacation time for other uses, such as travel or future family needs. It also removes the administrative burden of having to submit a leave claim in the middle of leave, therefore enhancing planning and access.
However, this change may create staffing challenges, especially for smaller employers. Employees may now choose to extend their leave beyond the eight-week paid family leave period by using accrued vacation time. Before AB 2123, employers could typically anticipate a maximum of about ten consecutive weeks of leave. Now, they may need to plan for potentially longer absences.
A satisfied workforce tends to be more engaged and productive. Employers will need to update internal time-off policies and manage administrative adjustments. In most cases, the impact on employers should be minimal.
SB 1090
Approved by California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 28, 2024, SB 1090 allows workers to apply for paid family leave up to thirty days before the beginning of their leave. This is a change from the previous requirement that workers wait until they start their leave to apply for benefits. This new change will make the process of applying for and receiving paid family leave more seamless for workers. Instead of completing several forms and navigating the process of applying for leave while they are bonding with a new child or caring for a sick family member, workers may now get ahead of this process by filing their claims up to thirty days earlier.
SB 1090 also increased the amount of benefits that workers can receive while on paid family leave. Before SB 1090, workers could receive between sixty and seventy percent of their regular income while on leave. For claims filed in 2025 and beyond, workers will receive seventy percent of their regular income, with low-income workers receiving up to ninety percent of their regular income. (For this bill, “low income” employees is defined as those who earn seventy percent or less than the state quarterly average wages.)
Conclusion
California’s employee leave laws are changing in 2025, introducing new benefits for employees and new responsibilities for employers. Staying informed is essential to ensuring compliance on behalf of employers.
