New California Laws for 2020 Affect Private schools, Public agencies and Police departments

SB 230 (New Guidelines on the Use of Force and Deadly Force)

"While AB 392 updated California's criminal law to match federal standards long in place, SB 230 puts policy and training requirements in place that will materially impact how police view their roles and interact with the public, and may actually have the most transformative effect on police practices," said Scott Tiedemann, Managing Partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, California's largest public sector and private education labor and education firm. Other members of the firm opined on the following new statutes:

AB 51 (Mandatory Arbitration Agreements No Longer Allowed)

"Schools may either halt the practice of requiring employees and applicants to enter into arbitration agreements as a condition of employment altogether or modify these arbitration agreements to make clear that state discrimination and Labor Code claims are not subject to mandatory arbitration," said Partner Donna Williamson. "For the latter, we recommend schools work with legal counsel to modify arbitration agreements to comply with this new law."

SB 276 and 714 (Stricter New Vaccination Exemptions)

"As of July 1, 2021, a school may not admit, readmit or advance any student to the 7th grade level unless the student has been immunized or has a medical exemption through a procedure that includes the completion of a compliant statewide form," said Partner Linda Adler. "However, there is a lot to be done in the meantime, and schools should be proactive in ensuring they're compliant with all other requirements outlined in Senate Bills 276 and 714."

AB 749 (No-Rehire Provisions in Settlement Agreements Have Been Banned)

"This will likely have a much bigger impact in areas where public agencies are the dominant employer for the economy or for the employee's line of work, where the no-rehire provision was devastating to an employee's career," said Partners Suzanne Solomon and Elizabeth Arce. "It will also likely encourage aggrieved employees who haven't come forward about issues in the workplace for fear of not being able to find another job."

AB 9 (The Statute of Limitations on Filing Harassment and Discrimination Claims has Been Extended)

"While there are undeniable benefits to a longer statute of limitations [for sexual assault cases], Assembly Bill 9 may unintentionally discourage employees from coming forward sooner and prevent the employer from taking appropriate measures in a timely manner," said Solomon and Arce.