CCPA Employee Exemption Set to Expire on Jan. 1

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) exemptions for employee data will likely not be extended, and full consumer rights will apply to employees on Jan. 1, 2023. Aug. 25, 2022, was the last day that bills could be amended, and no legislative proposals made it to the floor.

The Aug. 25 deadline is set by legislative rules, and the legislature can waive its own rules, but the chances of that happening now are slim given the labor opposition.

Businesses should assess how consumer rights apply to employees and prepare to provide employees with CCPA rights, including the right to know, the right to delete, the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, the right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information, and the right of no retaliation following opt-out or exercise of other rights.

California employers should carefully assess the differences between the rights afforded under the CCPA and those provided under the California Labor Code. Most California employers should already have in place many of the processes required under the CCPA, such as a process to allow employees to access their personnel data, but the CCPA, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, has many new and different obligations for employers that do not exist under the current Labor Code.