Under Senate Bill 807, approved by Governor Newsom on September 23, 2021, employers will need to retain personnel records for longer periods of time. The new law extends the current personnel records retention requirement from two to four years. If litigation has been filed, employers must now retain such records until the applicable statute of limitations has run, or until the conclusion of the litigation, whichever occurs later. SB 807 also makes several changes to the filing and tolling deadlines for bringing claims for certain civil rights violations, including claims on behalf of a class.

The Bill tolls the deadline for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) to file a civil action pursuant to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) while a mandatory or voluntary dispute resolution is pending. When a complaint is filed with DFEH for an alleged violation of certain laws, the time for complainants to file their own civil actions is now tolled until either the DFEH files a civil action or one year after the DFEH issues written notice to the complainant that it has closed its investigation and elected not to file a civil action. The bill applies this tolling retroactively but does not revive claims that have already lapsed.

Presently, if the DFEH does not bring a civil action for certain unlawful employment practices 150 days after the filing of a complaint or determines that it will not bring a civil action, the FEHA requires the DFEH to notify the person claiming to be aggrieved, indicating that person may bring a civil action pursuant to the FEHA. The Senate Bill changes this process for a complaint treated as a group or class complaint. For those types of claims, the DFEH is now required to issue a right-to-sue notice upon completion of its investigation, and not later than 2 years after the filing of the complaint.

With the advent of these employment law changes it is imperative that businesses update their document retention policies. Should an employment claim arise, immediately contact your attorney.

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.