The 2019 California Legislative Session drew to a close with the expiration of the September 13^th deadline to pass bills and forward them to Governor Gavin Newsom. Overall, this session was quite active as several bills have already been signed into law, including laws to:

• Delay the new harassment training deadlines for smaller employers and non-supervisory employees from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 and to clarify that employees who received sexual harassment training in 2018 need not be re-trained in 2019 (SB 778);
• Amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act to preclude racial discrimination related to hairstyles (SB 188);
• Update the requirements and procedures for reporting serious workplace injuries (AB 1804 and AB 1805).
• Require employers provide additional notices related to deadlines for flexible spending accounts (AB 1554); and
• Prohibit employers from requiring employees to bring their mail in election ballots to work (AB 17).

The legislature also passed and forwarded to the governor a number of employment-related bills, including bills to:

• Prohibit mandatory pre-employment arbitration agreements for FEHA and/or Labor Code violations (AB 51);
• Amend the Labor Code to preclude discrimination or retaliation against sexual harassment victims and their family members (AB 171);
• Extend the statute of limitations for FEHA claims from one to three years (AB 9) and for Labor Code claims from six months to two years (AB 403);
• Codify the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling regarding independent contractors while identifying various exemptions (AB 5);
• Require employers to provide up to an additional thirty days of unpaid leave for organ donations (AB 1223);
• Further expand workplace lactation accommodation requirements (SB 142);
• Amend the California Consumer Privacy Act to temporarily exclude information gathered by employers in the employment context (AB 25); and
• Prohibit so-called “no rehire” provisions in employment-related settlement agreements (AB 749).

Governor Newsom has until October 13, 2019 to sign or veto these bills.