Global Compliance – United States

United States: Upcoming Amendments to Labour Law Provisions 

Effective January 2025, several states across the United States are bringing about significant changes in their respective labor law provisions.  

Read on as we cover these changes in detail – 

California 

Expansion of Scope for utilization of Victim Leave (AB 2499)

Currently, employees who are victims of crime or abuse are entitled to take unpaid leave. Additionally, employees can use paid sick leave for specific reasons related to being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Effective January 1, 2025, the scope of protection will expand to cover family members of employees. If a family member of an employee is a victim of crime or abuse, the employee can request leave or accommodation to support them. These protections will be enforced under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), with the Civil Rights Department handling enforcement and treating violations as unlawful employment practices. 

The definition of a “qualifying act of violence” is broadened in scope to include additional situations beyond traditional crime or abuse, allowing employees to take leave for more safety-related reasons. 

Employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of leave for qualifying reasons. They may take up to five days to assist a family member with relocation if the family member is a victim and the employee is not. Additionally, employees can take up to 10 days if their family member is a victim (not deceased) and the employee is not a victim themselves. 

Employees will be able to utilize paid sick leave for qualifying act of violence reasons. Leave taken under this protection will run concurrently with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), as long as the employee qualifies, preventing overlapping leave periods. 

Paid Family Leave (AB 2123)

Currently, paid family leave program is within the state disability insurance system, offering wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off to care for seriously ill family members, bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, or address a qualifying exigency related to the active duty of a covered family member.  

Additionally, employees are allowed to use up to two weeks of earned, but unused vacation leave before receiving Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) benefits within any 12-month eligibility period. 

Effective January 1, 2025, this provision will no longer apply. The amendment will eliminate the requirement for employees to take vacation leave before accessing their FTDI benefits. This change aims to ensure that employees can receive the benefits beforehand without having to exhaust their vacation leave first. 

Connecticut  

Expansion of Paid Sick Leave (HB 5005)

Currently, The Connecticut Paid Sick Leave (CT PSL) law mandates that employers with 50 or more employees provide paid sick leave to eligible workers. The law requires that eligible employees accrue one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked within a 365-day period, with a cap of 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Employees can begin using accrued sick leave once they have completed 680 hours of employment from the date of hire. 

Notice and Documentation Requirements – Employees must give up to 7 days’ notice for foreseeable sick leave and notify their employer as soon as possible for unforeseen leave. For sick leave lasting three or more consecutive days, a healthcare provider’s documentation is required. For leave related to family violence or sexual assault, alternative verification, such as documentation from a victim services organization, attorney, police officer, counselor, or court records, may be submitted. 

Effective January 1, 2025, the scope of the CT PSL law will expand to include employers with 25 or more employees. The amendment will extend further starting January 1, 2026, to cover employers with 11 or more employees, and by January 1, 2027, all employers with at least one employee will be subject to the law. 

Eligible employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. Employees will be entitled to begin using their accrued paid sick leave once they have completed 120 days of employment. 

The definition of “family member” will also be broadened to include a spouse, sibling, child, grandparent, grandchild, or parent of the employee. Additionally, the law extends coverage to individuals related to the employee by blood or affinity, where the employee’s relationship to the individual is equivalent to a familial bond. 

Frontloading and Documentation Provisions- Employers may choose to frontload sick leave at the start of the year, providing a bank of paid leave instead of a carryover system. 

Employers cannot request documentation to verify the legal reason for using paid sick leave, ensuring employees are not burdened with unnecessary paperwork. 

New York 

Paid Prenatal Personal Leave  (2025 Executive Budget)

Currently there are no provisions for paid prenatal personal leave 

Effective January 1, 2025, employees in New York who are pregnant shall be entitled to an additional paid off time of 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave per 52-week period for doctors’ appointments, procedures, or other types of prenatal care. Paid prenatal personal leave is part of the New York Paid Sick Leave Program. 

Paid prenatal personal leave is in addition to paid sick and safe leave provided under New York Sick Leave law and paid family leave under the Paid Family Leave.  

Oregon 

Family Leave Act (OFLA) and Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) – Redefining of benefit scope   

Currently, under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specific events, such as caring for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, taking parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, and additional leave for pregnancy-related disabilities. Employees could also take leave to care for a sick child or for bereavement following the death of a family member, with up to two weeks allowed per family member. While OFLA permitted the use of accrued paid leave concurrently, there were instances where it overlapped with Paid Leave Oregon (PLO). 

Effective January 1, 2025, the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) will be revised to better align with Paid Leave Oregon (PLO), eliminating overlap in benefits. The changes will include expanded leave categories such as for childcare, bereavement, pregnancy, and organ donation, with an additional two weeks for adoption. OFLA and PLO will no longer cover the same leave events; for example, adoption leave will be exclusively under PLO. Employers must update policies and tracking systems to ensure compliance with these changes and provide clear employee guidance. 

Washington 

Expansion of Scope of Sick Leave Usage (Senate Bill 5793)

Currently, employees are entitled to use paid sick leave primarily for their own illness or to care for a sick family member. The definition of “family member” for these purposes has been traditionally limited to immediate relatives, such as children, spouses, and parents.  

Effective January 1, 2025, the amendment introduces significant expansions to both the scope of leave and the definition of eligible family members.  

• The amendment broadens the scope to allow employees to take paid sick leave when a child’s school or place of care is closed due to a declared emergency. This addresses public health emergencies or other crises where caregivers may need to stay home to care for children. 

• The amendment expands the definition of family members to include grandparents and grandchildren of the employee. It also extends coverage to the spouse of a child of the employee (such as a son-in-law or daughter-in-law). Furthermore, the law now covers individuals living in the employee’s home who depend on the employee for care, including non-relatives, as long as the person relies on the employee for assistance 

Takeaway- Employers should begin reviewing policies in respect to the above-mentioned proposed changes and take action to ensure compliance with the new changes in law as soon as it becomes effective.