Watchlist: New California Laws That Will Affect the Restaurant Industry

The California Legislature passed hundreds of new laws during the 2017 legislative session.  Several of these laws, covering a wide range of topics will affect restaurants and their employees in 2018 and beyond. 

EmploymentMandatory Unpaid Parental Leave: Starting in January 1, 2018, all employers with more than 20 employees were required to provide new parent employees who have worked at the business for more than one year with a mandatory 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave.

Ban-the-Box: AB-1008 makes it unlawful under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act for employers with five or more employees to have an employment application question seeking the disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history until they have given the applicant a conditional offer.  It also creates a new procedure for employers to consider the criminal conviction history of job applicants before making employment decision.  It also gives applicants who are rejected from jobs because of their…