California–Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) was a driving force in the passage of three laws that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, significantly impacting working women and low-income families in California.
Laws advancing pay equity and stronger work leave protections will go into effect on New Year’s Day and were priorities of the Stronger California Advocates Network, a collaborative campaign of 50+ advocacy groups and coalitions from across the state.
The bills, which were cosponsored by ERA, include:
- AB 1041 (Wicks) will allow workers the right to take job-protected family leave and paid sick leave to care for chosen and extended family, making California leave laws more inclusive.
- AB 1949 (Low) will give workers the right to 5 days of job-protected bereavement leave upon the death of close family members and prohibits retaliation against workers for requesting or taking bereavement leave.
- SB 1162 (Limón) will require employers to provide salary ranges on job postings, provide current employees with the salary range for their position upon request, and require employers with 100 or more employees hired through third-party staffing agencies or labor contractors to report pay data broken down by gender, race and ethnicity, bringing greater accountability over this growing segment of the workforce who are disproportionately women and people of color and often paid less than direct-hire employees doing the same work.
