California Gov. Jerry Brown had until midnight October 9, 2011, to sign or veto bills before him.? He used every last minute, signing bills right up to the deadline.

In the past few days, Gov. Brown signed several important employment-related bills into law:

• AB 22: Prohibits employers from being able to use credit reports for applicant or employment purposes, except in limited circumstances.


• SB 459: Provides new penalties for “willfully” misclassifying independent contractors. Imposes joint liability on non-attorney outside consultants who knowingly advise an employer to treat an individual as an independent contractor to avoid employee status.


• AB 1396: Requires written commission agreements. Employers must comply by January 1, 2013.


• SB 299: Makes it an unlawful employment practice to refuse to maintain and pay for coverage for an employee who is on pregnancy disability leave under the same conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment during the PDL leave. Look for upcoming newsletters for an in-depth explanation of what this bill means for your existing policies.


• AB 887: Further defines “gender” under the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include both gender identity and “gender expression.” Gender expression is defined as “a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.”? This definition is consistent with existing law.

Gov. Brown vetoed AB 325, a CalChamber “job killer” bill, which would have required California businesses to provide up to three days of unpaid bereavement leave.

Copyright: HRC/CalChamber