Recently, California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) released revised versions of the state’s Discrimination and Family Care & Medical Leave & Pregnancy Disability Leave notices. Along the same lines, the state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) updated its whistleblower protections notice, which was last revised in late December 2024. All affected California employers must post these new 2025 notices with their California state and federal labor law posters.
What Updates Are Included on the Civil Rights Department Posters?
Firstly, the California Civil Rights Department updated the Discrimination poster to include the definition of harassment and discrimination based on a single protected characteristic or a combination of multiple protected characteristics. It also introduces new protections for employees and their family members who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other specified forms of violence, including rights to safety-related reasonable accommodations and time off for legal proceedings.
Secondly, the agency revised the Family Care & Medical Leave & Pregnancy Disability Leave poster to include a website for more information on the state’s Paid Family Leave program. The poster also now includes clarified language regarding pregnancy disability leave.
What Updates Are Included on the Whistleblower Protections Poster?
Lastly, the DIR updated its Whistleblower Protections poster for the second time in recent months. As noted earlier, an initial update was made to this notice in December 2024. Within that version of the notice, the agency expanded whistleblower protections. More specifically, the December poster stated that employees are safeguarded from retaliation. This includes when the workers engage in protected activity and when employers believe the employees have or may engage in such actions, even without proof.
The January 2025 revision further clarifies that employees are protected from retaliation when they engage in whistleblowing activities and when their employer perceives they have or will engage in such activities. Additionally, employers are now prohibited from creating their own versions of this notice. The DIR-created poster is the only acceptable version allowed.
Employer Takeaways
Affected employers must display these latest revisions in well-traveled areas within the workplace. This means that businesses must post the Discrimination, Family Care & Medical Leave & Pregnancy Disability Leave, and Whistleblower Protections notices in an area like a break room or lobby that is accessible to workers. These resources should be posted as soon as they are received.
Labor Law Posters Online's revised 2025 California State & Federal Labor Law Poster now includes all three recently released posters. As part of our guarantee, all recent updates to required state and federal posters are included on our compliance notices. Current Labor Law Posters Online subscribers who purchased our annual poster update services will receive the revised posters for free.