Retaliation
California Extends COVID-Era Recall Rights for Displaced Workers to 2027
Updated
Assembly Bill 858, authored by Assemblymember Lee, extends California’s recall and retention requirements for certain laid-off workers. The measure amends Labor Code section 2810.8 to keep those provisions operative until January 1, 2027, rather than allowing them to expire at the end of 2025. As an ordinary statute chaptered in 2025, the amendment takes effect January 1, 2026.
Background
California enacted Labor Code section 2810.8 during the COVID-19 pandemic to give displaced workers in certain industries a right to be recalled as positions reopened. It applies to enterprises such as hotels, private clubs, event centers, airport hospitality operations, airport service providers, and building-service work at commercial buildings.
The statute defines a “laid-off employee” as someone employed for six months or more whose most recent separation occurred on or after March 4, 2020, for a reason related to the pandemic. It creates a presumption that a separation for lack of business, a reduction in force, or another economic, nondisciplinary reason is pandemic-related unless the employer proves otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence.
By its own terms, section 2810.8 was set to become inoperative after December 31, 2025. AB 858 addresses that sunset by extending the operative period.
What the Law Changes
AB 858 amends section 2810.8 so that its provisions remain operative until January 1, 2027, rather than expiring at the end of 2025. The substantive recall and retention framework carries forward largely as before.
Under that framework, a covered employer must offer laid-off employees, in writing, the job positions that become available and for which they are qualified, generally within five business days of establishing a position. Where more than one employee qualifies, the employer must offer positions by a preference system based on length of service, and it must give an offered employee at least five business days to accept or decline.
The statute also requires employers to keep specified records for at least three years, to give written reasons within 30 days when declining to recall a qualified employee, and it bars adverse action against employees who assert their rights. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement retains exclusive jurisdiction, and remedies include reinstatement, front pay or back pay, benefit value, and civil penalties of $100 per employee plus $500 per employee for each day a violation continues.
AB 858 amends Labor Code section 2810.8 to extend California’s recall and retention protections for pandemic-displaced workers, keeping those provisions operative until January 1, 2027.
Timing and Enforcement of Past Violations
Although section 2810.8 becomes inoperative on January 1, 2027, the amended statute preserves enforcement of earlier conduct. A violation occurring on or before December 31, 2026, remains enforceable through the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement under subdivision (d).
The section also allows waiver through a valid collective bargaining agreement if the waiver is explicit and in clear and unambiguous terms, and it does not limit a discharged employee’s right to bring a common law claim for wrongful termination.
What This Means for You
This law keeps in place, through 2026, the recall, offer, record-keeping, and anti-retaliation requirements that apply when covered hotel, event center, airport, and building-service employers rehire employees laid off for pandemic-related reasons. It touches disputes over whether qualified laid-off workers were offered available positions and retained in order of seniority.
I write these summaries as general information about developments in California employment law. They are not legal advice and don’t create a mediator–client relationship. For guidance on a specific matter, consult a qualified attorney.