Businesses subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act
(“CCPA”) can breathe a small sigh of relief. On August
30, 2020, the California Legislature passed
AB 1281. AB 1281 extends the business-to-business and employee
personal information carve outs until January 1, 2022. The bill is
now headed to the Governor's office for signature. There is
no reason to believe the Governor will not sign it.
As passed, the CCPA provided a one-year exemption on the
application of CCPA to: (1) personal information obtained from
business-to-business communications, and (2) personal information
obtained from employees. That sunset provision was set to expire on
January 1, 2021.
The Assembly Floor Analysis noted that the one-year sunset
provision was intended to provide a year for the applicable
stakeholders to find a long-term solution. However, COVID-19 has
required the legislature to reevaluate its priorities to do what is
best for the state of California.
