The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees who take time off work due to jury service, court appearances, or circumstances related to qualifying acts of violence or crime. The FEHA currently authorizes the Civil Rights Department (CRD) to enforce these protections effective January 1, 2025, and provides rights related to leave, confidentiality, and reasonable accommodation for affected employees.
Until January 1, 2025, the Labor Code set forth the statutory prohibitions on discrimination or retaliation against an employee who took time off of work for the above purposes. During that time, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) had authority to enforce these provisions. However, as of January 1, 2025, these Labor Code provisions were repealed and replaced by the provisions in the Government Code (under FEHA, as noted above) prohibiting discrimination or retaliation against an employee who is a victim or whose family member is a victim of qualifying acts of violence.
AB 406 reinstates the prior Labor Code provisions that governed employee rights to take leave or request accommodations as victims of crime, applying those provisions on a limited basis to alleged violations that occurred on or before December 31, 2024. AB 406 adds a sunset clause to the reinstated Labor Code provisions such that they are repealed January 1, 2035.
AB 406 also transfers enforcement responsibilities for the reinstated Labor Code provisions from the DLSE to the CRD to maintain consistency in enforcement.
AB 406 also updates the paid sick leave law in Labor Code Section 246.5 to reflect the transition from Labor Code to Government Code provisions, clarifying that victims of violence may use paid sick leave for qualifying absences.
AB 406 took effect immediately on October 1, 2025, as urgency legislation.
(AB 406 amends Section 12945.8 of the Government Code, amends Section 246.5, amends and repeals Sections 230.2 and 230.5, and adds Sections 230 and 230.1 of the Labor Code.)