Employment: rehiring and retention: displaced workers: natural disasters.

Assembly Member Lee's proposal to modify California's worker recall requirements would shift the law's focus from COVID-19 impacts to natural disaster-related layoffs, extending protections for displaced workers through 2031. The measure redefines qualifying layoffs to include separations occurring after January 1, 2025, that result from wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

Under the amended provisions, employers must offer available positions to laid-off workers who previously held the same or similar roles, with preference given based on length of service. The bill maintains existing requirements for employers to provide written job offers within five business days of position openings and retain detailed records of layoffs and recall attempts for three years. When declining to recall a laid-off worker, employers must document their rationale and the comparative service length of alternative hires within 30 days.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement would retain exclusive authority to investigate violations and issue penalties, including civil fines of $100 per affected employee plus $500 daily in liquidated damages until violations are remedied. The provisions would apply when businesses change ownership, reorganize, relocate, or transfer assets while maintaining similar operations. Local governments could enact stricter standards, and the requirements could be waived through explicit collective bargaining agreement terms.