SB 723: Displaced Workers

Senate Bill 723 by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) was amended to address displaced workers. SB 723 would amend Labor Code Section 2810.8 which requires certain employers to offer its laid-off employees specified information about job positions that become available for which those individuals may be qualified, and to offer positions to those laid-off.

First, the bill would change the definition of a “laid-off employee” to no longer specify the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it would define this term to mean an employee whose most recent separation from active “employment by the employer occurred on or after March 4, 2020, and was the result of a number of reasons, no longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Second, the bill would repeal the application of this section of the law dealing with COVID-19 state of emergency, but rather simply a “layoff.” Third, the bill would delete the December 31, 2024 repeal, so the provisions would be made permanent.