New California Laws for 2026 and Beyond: What Employers Should Know

At a Glance

• AB 692 builds upon California law that can void contracts prohibiting competition after an employee’s employment ends by prohibiting certain contracts with “workers” (not only employees) that may have that effect but do not explicitly block competition.
• SB 294 establishes the Workplace Know Your Rights Act and requires employers to provide a stand-alone written notice to all current employees by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter.
• SB 642 expands pay transparency requirements, by revising the definition of “pay scale” to mean a good-faith estimate of the wage range employers reasonably expect to pay for a position upon hire.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several laws impacting California employers in 2025. Some of the new laws became effective in 2025; and others, including some that were signed into law just weeks ago, take effect January 1, 2026, or later. These new laws address several topics, including restraint of trade, artificial intelligence, workplace rights, employer pay data and payment of wages.

As a reminder, the minimum wage in California is increasing to $16.90 per hour on January 1, 2026, for all employers — regardless of the number of workers employed by an employer. This also means that the minimum salary threshold for overtime exemption will increase to $70,304. Also, many cities and local governments in California have enacted minimum wage ordinances exceeding the state minimum wage.

All employers with operations in California should be aware of these new laws, understand how these laws may affect their operations, and consult with counsel to address any compliance questions, including whether existing employment policies should be updated or whether new employment policies should be created. The effective date and/or operative date of each new law is indicated in the heading of the Assembly Bill (AB) or Senate Bill (SB). Unless otherwise indicated, the list below is in numerical order by AB or SB.

Please note that the summary below does not address all new California laws that impact employers or employees; rather, it is a summary of the new California laws that we believe to be the most significant in terms of scope and impact of individuals or employers with business operations in California.

AB 250 — Sexual Assault: Statute of Limitations (Effective January 1, 2026)

AB 250 extends the window for reviving civil claims for damages resulting from sexual assault, where such claims would otherwise be barred by the existing statute of limitations, to include those barred before January 1, 2026. Plaintiffs may bring revived actions between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027, or continue actions already pending on January 1, 2026. This bill applies to both entities and perpetrators, including the representatives of entities who engaged in a cover-up or attempted cover-up of prior sexual assault incidents or allegations. Public entities are exempt from revival provisions. Further, the following claims are not revived:

1. A claim that has been litigated to finality in a court of competent jurisdiction before January 1, 2026
2. A claim that has been compromised by a written settlement agreement between the parties entered into before January 1, 2026
3. A claim, including a direct claim, derivative claim and a vicarious liability claim brought against a public entity

This bill does not alter a plaintiff’s burden of proof in such civil actions.

This bill amends section 340.16 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

AB 288 — Labor Organization and Unfair Practices (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law has established the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to enforce labor laws pertaining to certain public employers and employees. AB 288 also allows workers in the private sector to bring labor rights and unfair practice claims to the PERB if the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) cannot or does not take action. This bill gives PERB authority to enforce key rights around union organizing and bargaining, sets clear timelines for resolving disputes, and allows for appropriate remedies (including penalties) when an employer violates labor laws. This means that, even if federal protections are unavailable, California employers and workers could see labor disputes handled at the state level, with new processes and enforcement mechanisms.

Notably, the NLRB has already filed suit in the Eastern District of California against the state and PERB seeking to block enforcement of AB 288, arguing that it is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

This bill amends sections 1141 and 1148 of, and adds sections 923.1 and 1140.6 to, the Labor Code.

AB 406 — Unlawful Discrimination: Victims of Violence (Effective October 1, 2025)

As we reported, last year, AB 2499 moved certain requirements regarding jury duty, court duty and time-off for victims of certain crimes from the Labor Code to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and expanded protection for victims and family members of victims of certain “qualifying acts of violence.” AB 406 reinstates Labor Code sections 230 and 230.1 to only apply to conduct occurring on or before December 31, 2024, and amends Labor Code sections 230.2 and 230.5 to only apply to conduct occurring on or before December 31, 2025. Effective October 1, 2025, the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement can enforce these laws, but only for violations on or before those dates.

This bill amends section 12945.8 of the Government Code, and amends section 246.5 of, amends and repeals sections 230.2 and 230.5 of, and adds and repeals sections 230 and 230.1 of, the Labor Code.

AB 578 — Food Delivery Platforms: Customer Service (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law bans food delivery platforms from retaining any portion of tips or gratuity. AB 578 establishes new rules for food delivery platforms in California, including banning delivery platforms from using tips or gratuities to offset the base pay of delivery drivers.

This bill amends section 22599.1 of, and adds section 22599.2 to, the Business and Professions Code.

AB 692 — Contracts in Restraint of Trade (Effective January 1, 2026)

AB 692 builds upon California law that can void contracts prohibiting competition after an employee’s employment ends by prohibiting certain contracts with “workers” (not only employees), which may have that effect but do not explicitly block competition. Specifically, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, AB 692 voids those that include in any employment contract, or require a worker to execute as a condition of employment or a work relationship a contract that:

1. requires a worker to pay an employer, a training provider or a debt collector for any debt solely because their employment or work relationship ends;
2. authorizes the employer, training provider or debt collector to resume or initiate collection of or end forbearance on a debt if the worker’s employment or work relationship with a specific employer terminates; or
3. imposes any penalty, fee or cost on a worker if the worker’s employment or work relationship with a specific employer terminates.

Some contracts are excluded from this bill. For example, a contract for tuition repayment for transferable credentials is excluded if several criteria are met, such as the credential is not required for the job, the repayment amount is specified before the worker agrees, repayment is prorated and cannot be accelerated upon early separation, and repayment is not required if the worker is terminated for a reason other than misconduct.

Another exception is a contract for the receipt of a discretionary or unearned monetary payment, including a financial bonus, at the outset of employment that is not tied to specific job performance, if the following criteria are met: (a) repayment terms are set forth in an agreement separate from the primary employment contract; (b) the employee is notified to consult an attorney before signing the agreement and is provided with at least five business days to do so; (c) any repayment obligation for early separation from employment is not subject to interest accrual and is prorated based on the remaining term of any retention period, which cannot exceed two years from the receipt of payment; (d) the worker has an option to defer receipt of the payment to the end of a fully served retention period without any repayment obligation; and (e) separation from employment prior to the retention period was at the sole election of the employee, or at the election of the employer for misconduct.

Also excepted are contracts for loan repayment or forgiveness provided by the government; for enrollment in certain state-approved apprenticeship programs; and those related to lease, financing or purchase of residential property.

Note that this bill contains expansive definitions of terms, including: contract; employer; misconduct; penalty, fee or cost; person; transferrable credential; and worker.

Finally, any person found liable for a violation of this section will be liable for actual damages sustained by the worker or workers on whose behalf the case is brought, or $5,000 per worker, whichever is greater, in addition to injunctive relief and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

This bill adds section 16608 to the Business and Professions Code and section 926 is to the Labor Code.

AB 715 — Educational Equity: Discrimination & Antisemitism Prevention (Effective January 1, 2026)

AB 715 combats antisemitism in K-12 schools by creating an Office of Civil Rights and an antisemitism prevention coordinator. Among other things, it requires school districts to investigate and correct discriminatory content and establishes a new office to provide resources and enforcement strategies for preventing and addressing bias.

This bill requires local educational agencies who know or have reason to know that materials were used in a classroom or an action occurred that resulted in unlawful discrimination, or know or have reason to know that professional development materials or services were used that resulted in unlawful discrimination, to investigate and remediate an action.

This bill also requires teacher instruction to be factually accurate, align with the adopted curriculum and standards, and be consistent with accepted standards of professional responsibility, rather than advocacy, personal opinion, bias or partisanship.

Finally, AB 715 authorizes the California Department of Education to require local educational agencies to take specified corrective actions.

This bill amends several sections of, and adds several sections to, the Education Code.

AB 751 — Rest Periods: Petroleum Facilities & Safety-Sensitive Positions (Effective January 1, 2026)

AB 751 indefinitely extends the exemption from rest period requirements for employees in safety-sensitive positions at petroleum facilities, which was previously set to expire on January 1, 2026. This bill also expands the scope of the exemption to include other refineries in addition to petroleum facilities.

This bill amends section 226.75 of the Labor Code.

AB 858 — Rehiring and Retention for Displaced Workers (Effective January 1, 2026)

AB 858 extends existing requirements for certain employers to offer available positions to laid-off employees (those separated due to COVID-19) from December 31, 2025, to January 1, 2027. Violations occurring on or before December 31, 2026, remain enforceable after that date.

This bill amends section 2810.8 of the Labor Code.

AB 1340 — Transportation Network Company Drivers (Effective January 1, 2026)

In 2020, California voters approved Proposition 22, which generally categorized app-based drivers as independent contractors and required that app companies provide drivers with certain specified compensation and benefits. AB 1340 allows drivers working for transportation network companies (TNCs) in California to organize, form or join driver organizations, and bargain collectively over pay, benefits and working conditions, without affecting their status as independent contractors.

This bill also establishes various procedures governing the certification of such driver organizations, and makes it an unfair practice for a TNC to fail or refuse to negotiate in good faith. The law provides for mediation and arbitration overseen by the PERB.

This bill adds Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 7470) to Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and adds Section 7927.710 to the Government Code.

SB 53 — Artificial Intelligence Models: Large Developers (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law:

1. Generally regulates artificial intelligence, including by requiring, on or before January 1, 2026, and before each time thereafter that a generative artificial intelligence system or service or a substantial modification to a generative artificial intelligence system or service released on or after January 1, 2022, is made publicly available to Californians for use, that the developer of the system or service post on the developer’s internet website documentation regarding the data used by the developer to train the generative artificial intelligence system or service, as prescribed.
2. Requires the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency to conduct, in coordination with other interagency bodies as it deems appropriate, a comprehensive inventory of all high-risk automated decision systems that have been proposed for use, development or procurement by, or are being used, developed or procured by, any state agency.
3. Prohibits employers and their agents from making, adopting or enforcing a rule, regulation or policy preventing an employee from disclosing information to certain entities or from providing information to or testifying before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a law, as specified, and prohibits retaliation against an employee for, among other things, exercising these rights.

SB 53 enacts the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), which — among other things related to ensuring the safety of a foundation model as defined, developed by a “frontier developer” — requires a large frontier developer to write, implement, and clearly and conspicuously publish on its internet website a frontier AI framework that applies to the large frontier developer’s frontier models and describes how the large frontier developer approaches, among other things, incorporating national standards, international standards and industry-consensus best practices into its frontier AI framework; requires a large frontier developer to transmit to the Office of Emergency Services a summary of any assessment of catastrophic risk resulting from internal use of its frontier models; and requires the Office of Emergency Services to establish a mechanism to be used by a frontier developer or a member of the public to report a critical safety incident and would also require the Office of Emergency Services to establish a mechanism to be used by a large frontier developer to confidentially submit summaries of any assessments of the potential for catastrophic risk resulting from internal use of its frontier models.

Moreover, this bill establishes within the Government Operations Agency a consortium required to develop a framework for the creation of a public cloud computing cluster to be known as “CalCompute” that advances the development and deployment of artificial intelligence that is safe, ethical, equitable and sustainable by, among other things, fostering research and innovation that benefits the public, as prescribed.

SB 53 also prohibits a frontier developer from making, adopting, enforcing or entering into a rule, regulation, policy or contract that prevents a covered employee, defined as an employee responsible for assessing, managing or addressing risk of critical safety incidents, from disclosing, or retaliates against a covered employee for disclosing, information to the attorney general, a federal authority, a person with authority over the covered employee, or another covered employee who has authority to investigate, discover or correct the reported issue, if the covered employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses that the frontier developer’s activities pose a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety resulting from a catastrophic risk, or that the frontier developer has violated the TFAIA and required a large frontier developer to provide a certain internal process through which a covered employee may anonymously disclose information to the large frontier developer if the covered employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information indicates that the large frontier developer’s activities present a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety resulting from a catastrophic risk, or that the large frontier developer violated the TFAIA.

This bill adds Chapter 25.1 (commencing with Section 22757.10) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, adds Section 11546.8 to the Government Code, and adds Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 1107) to Part 3 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.

Relevant for California employers, new California Artificial Intelligence regulations (AI Regulations) adopted by the Civil Rights Council (Council) took effect October 1, 2025. These regulations are intended to protect candidates and employees against potential employment discrimination as a result of the use of AI, algorithms and other automated-decision systems. In adopting these regulations, the Council amended protections already afforded to candidates and employees under the FEHA to define terms (discussed below) such as “automated-decision system,” “agent,” “employment agency,” “algorithm,” “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning.” If an employer engages in an unlawful employment practice that violates the FEHA, including a violation of the new AI Regulations as of October 1, 2025, then the complainant(s) or class of complainants are entitled to individual or personal relief, including but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement or upgrading, back pay, or other relief in furtherance of the FEHA. Additional information regarding the AI Regulations can be found here.

SB 66 — Civil Discovery (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law requires each party that has appeared in a civil action to provide certain initial disclosures under oath to the other parties to the action within 60 days of a demand by any party to the action unless modified by agreement of the parties. This includes disclosure of persons and documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its possession, custody, or control and may use to support its claims or defenses, or that is relevant to the subject matter of the action. It also includes that provisions of insurance policies liable to satisfy claims made in the action that are material to the terms of the insurance, indemnification or reimbursement are required to be included in the initial disclosure. Excluded from this bill are actions such as unlawful detainer, small claims, family, probate and those where a party is not represented by counsel.

Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027, and replaces them with prior law requiring initial disclosures to be made upon order of the court following the stipulation of the parties.

This bill removes the January 1, 2027, repeal date, thereby indefinitely extending the operation of the provisions described above.

This bill adds section 2016.090 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

SB 85 — Civil Actions: Service of Summons (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 85 provides that where a plaintiff, despite exercising reasonable diligence, has been unable to effect service of a summons (and complaint) by any of the methods authorized by law, the court may, upon motion, direct that summons (and complaint) be served in a manner that is reasonably calculated to give actual notice to the party to be served, including by electronic mail or other electronic technology, and that proof of such service be made as prescribed by the court.

To avail this procedure, a plaintiff must provide the court facts detailing all attempts to serve the defendant by each of the methods permitted by law, including facts demonstrating why each method was unsuccessful at every address or location where the defendant is likely to be found.

This bill does not apply in an action against a governmental entity or an agent or employee of the governmental entity who has been sued in an official or individual capacity.

This bill amends section 413.30 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

SB 261 — Division of Labor Standards Enforcement: Orders, Decisions, and Awards (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law authorizes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (the Labor Commissioner) to investigate employee complaints and to provide for a hearing in any action to recover wages, penalties and other demands for compensation, and provides that the judgment creditor, or the Labor Commissioner as assignee of the judgment creditor, “is entitled to” court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for enforcing the judgment. Existing law also provides for enforcement if a final judgment against an employer arising from the employer’s nonpayment of wages remains unsatisfied after specified periods of time, including prohibiting the employer from conducting business in California if a final judgment against the employer remains unsatisfied for 30 days.

SB 261 modifies existing law by providing additional tools to enhance enforcement and collection of wage judgments to ensure workers who are victims of wage theft are paid in a timely manner, consistent with California public policy, by providing that the judgment creditor, or the Labor Commissioner or public prosecutor as assignee of the judgment creditor, “shall be awarded” court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for enforcing the judgment. SB 261 also creates a new potential penalty for employers by requiring the judgment debtor to be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed three times the outstanding judgment amount if a final judgment arising from the nonpayment of work performed in California remains unsatisfied after a period of 180 days, and requires a court to award a prevailing plaintiff all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in any action brought by a judgment creditor, the Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor to enforce a final judgment arising from the nonpayment of wages, penalties or other amounts owed arising from work performed in California.

This bill amends section 98.2 of the Labor Code and adds sections 238.05 and 238.10 to the Labor Code.

SB 294 — The Workplace Know Your Rights Act (Effective January 1, 2026; Compliance Date: February 1, 2026)

SB 294 establishes the Workplace Know Your Rights Act and requires employers to provide a stand-alone written notice to all current employees by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. Notice must also be given to new hires upon employment and annually to any authorized employee representative (e.g., union).

The notice must describe employee rights, including:

• Workers’ compensation benefits
• Notice requirements for immigration agency inspections
• Protection against unfair immigration-related practices
• Right to organize or join a union
• Constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement (Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections)

The notice must be provided in the language the employer uses to communicate with the employee, if available from the Labor Commissioner, and if not available, the written notice may be provided in English.

This bill requires the Labor Commissioner to develop and annually update a template notice in multiple languages, posted online by January 1, 2026. Further, by July 1, 2026, the Labor Commissioner is required to create videos explaining worker and employer rights and requirements, available in English and Spanish (and other languages).

In addition, employers must give employees the opportunity to designate an emergency contact to be notified if the employee is arrested or detained at the workplace — or during work hours or during the performance of the employee’s job duties, but not on the worksite, only if the employer knows about the detention. Existing employees must be allowed to designate a contact by March 30, 2026; new hires at the time of hiring after that date. Employees can update emergency contact information during employment.

Employers are prohibited from firing, demoting, suspending or otherwise retaliating against employees for exercising rights under the Act or assisting with its enforcement.

The Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors have enforcement authority as follows:

• Penalties for violations: Up to $500 per employee per violation
• For emergency contact violations: up to $500 per employee per day, capped at $10,000 per employee

Employees, the Labor Commissioner, or prosecutors may recover penalties as statutory or civil penalties, but not both, for the same violation.

Actions may include injunctions, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and costs.

Finally, this bill does not preempt city or county ordinances that provide equal or greater protections. The requirements may be waived in a collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is explicit and unambiguous.

This bill adds section 1550 through section 1559 to the Labor Code.

SB 303 — Bias Mitigation Training: Unlawful Discrimination (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 303 clarifies that if an employee in good faith, assesses, tests, admits or acknowledges their own personal bias as part of a bias mitigation training (when solicited or required by the employer), this does not by itself constitute unlawful discrimination under California law.

This bill encourages employers to conduct bias mitigation trainings, which is defined as bias mitigation or bias elimination training, education and activities provided by an employer for the purpose of educating employees on understanding, recognizing or acknowledging the influence of conscious and unconscious thought processes and their associated impacts.

Bias mitigation training must include implementing specific strategies to mitigate the impact of employees’ personal biases.

Strategies include but are not limited to: assessing or testing for personal bias, analyzing bias assessments or tests, conducting bias training, conducting workshops, using toolkits, and tracking bias mitigation and elimination.

This bill adds section 12940.2 to the Government Code.

SB 464 — Employer Pay Data (Effective January 1, 2026; Most Provisions Effective January 1, 2027)

Existing law requires private employers with 100 or more employees to annually submit a pay data report to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), detailing the number of employees by race, ethnicity and sex across job categories, and information about pay bands, median and mean hourly rates, and hours worked.

2026: Data Storage Requirements and Mandatory Penalties

Starting January 1, 2026, SB 464 requires employers to store any demographic data collected for pay reporting purposes in a location separate from regular employee personnel records. Furthermore, if the CRD requests it, courts must impose civil penalties on employers who do not file the required pay data reports.

2027: New Job Categories

Starting January 1, 2027, SB 464 expands the number of job categories in the report from 10 to 23, requiring employers to provide detailed occupational data about:

1. Chief executives
2. Management occupations, except chief executives
3. Business and financial operations occupations
4. Computer and mathematical occupations
5. Architecture and engineering occupations
6. Life, physical and social science occupations
7. Community and social science occupations
8. Legal occupations
9. Educational instruction and library occupations
10. Art, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations
11. Health care practitioners and technical occupations
12. Health care support occupations
13. Protective service occupations
14. Food preparation and serving-related occupations
15. Building and ground cleaning and maintenance occupations
16. Personal care and service occupations
17. Sales and related occupations
18. Office and administrative support occupations
19. Farming, fishing and forestry occupations
20. Construction and extraction occupations
21. Installation, maintenance and repair occupations
22. Production occupations
23. Transportation and material moving occupations

This bill requires the CRD to retain pay data reports for at least 10 years. Additionally, the EDD must assist in enforcement by providing the CRD with business contact information for employers with 100 or more employees.

This bill amends section 12999 of the Government Code.

SB 477 — California Fair Employment and Housing Act: Enforcement Procedures (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 477 introduces a formal definition of the term “group or class complaint,” clarifying that it includes any complaint alleging a pattern or practice of discrimination.

SB 477 also expands the circumstances under which the statute of limitations for filing a civil action is tolled. Specifically, the time for a complainant to file a civil action is now tolled if the complainant timely appeals the CRD’s closure of their complaint, until one year after the CRD issues written notice that the complaint remains closed following the appeal. Moreover, this bill provides that deadlines for the CRD to bring a civil action are tolled not only during dispute resolution proceedings but also pursuant to written agreements between the complainant and the CRD, during petitions to compel, and while appeals of complaint closures are pending.

SB 477 further updates procedures for issuing “right-to-sue” notices that existing law authorizes the director to bring. If a complaint relates to a director’s complaint (a civil action in the name of the CRD, acting in the public’s interest, on behalf of an aggrieved person if conference, conciliation, mediation or persuasion fails to eliminate an unlawful practice) or a group or class complaint, the CRD must issue a right-to-sue notice only after those related complaints have been fully and finally resolved and all related proceedings have terminated. The statute of limitations for issuing a right-to-sue notice is also tolled during dispute resolutions, written agreements, petitions to compel and appeals.

SB 477 removes previous restrictions specifying the counties in which the CRD could file civil actions for housing discrimination, allowing such actions to be filed under the same procedures as employment discrimination cases.

SB 477 amends sections 12926, 12960, 12965 and 12981 of the Government Code.

SB 513 — Personnel Records (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 513 clarifies that personnel records relating to an employee’s performance now includes education and training records. Employers who maintain education or training records must ensure these records contain the employee’s name, the name of the training provider, the duration and date of the training, the core competencies or skills learned (including equipment or software), and any resulting certification or qualification.

SB 513 maintains existing requirements for employers to allow current and former employees, or their representatives, to inspect and receive copies of their personnel records within specified timeframes. By expanding the definition of personnel records and requiring more detailed information in training records, SB 513 also expands the scope of an existing crime, since violations of these requirements are considered infractions under California law. SB 513 specifies that no state reimbursement is required for local agencies or school districts because any costs incurred result from the creation, elimination or modification of a crime or infraction.

SB 513 amends section 1198.5 of the California Labor Code.

SB 518 — Descendants of Enslaved Persons: Reparations (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 518 establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the CRD to verify descendant status for reparations, manage education and outreach, safeguard privacy, and administer legal compliance, with its operations contingent on legislative funding. The bureau is led by a deputy director appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.

The bureau will create a Genealogy Division to handle certification and appeal requests, an Education and Outreach Division to conduct public education campaigns on issues such as gentrification, redlining and discriminatory urban planning, in coordination with educational institutions and community organizations, and a Legal Affairs Division to provide legal guidance and ensure the bureau’s programs comply with relevant laws and regulations.

SB 518 sets strict requirements for the collection, storage and disclosure of personal and genetic information, limiting access to only what is necessary for the bureau’s mission and requiring written consent for any disclosure. The bureau is authorized to receive funding from governmental grants and private donations, but donors cannot influence bureau policies or programs.

Implementation of the bureau’s work depends on funding appropriated by the legislature. This bill also makes explicit findings that the bureau’s activities serve a public purpose and do not constitute a gift of public funds, and it justifies confidentiality measures to protect individuals’ sensitive information.

SB 518 adds Chapter 2 (commencing with section 12910) to Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SB 590 — Paid Family Leave: Eligibility & Care for Designated Persons (Effective January 1, 2026, with repeal of current law and new provisions effective January 1, 2028)

Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the state treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. Existing law also establishes, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to eight weeks to workers who take time off work for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member.

SB 590 will, effective July 1, 2028, expand eligibility for benefits under the paid family leave program to include individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill “designated person,” defined to mean “any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship,” and will make conforming changes to the definitions of the terms family care leave and family member. SB 590 also will, effective July 1, 2028, require a person who requests for the first time family temporary disability insurance benefits to care for a designated person to identify the designated person and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the individual is related by blood to the designated person, or how the individual’s association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship.

This bill amends, repeals and adds sections 3301, 3302 and 3303 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

SB 617 — California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (Effective January 1, 2026)

The existing California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act prohibits an employer, with certain exceptions, from ordering a “mass layoff,” “relocation” or “termination” at a “covered establishment” — as such terms are defined in the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act — without giving prescribed written notice to the employees, the Employment Development Department and other local agencies.

SB 617 requires employers to include in the prescribed written notice: (1) information regarding the statewide food assistance program known as CalFresh; (2) a functioning email and telephone number of the employer for contact; and (3) whether the employer plans to coordinate services, such as a rapid response orientation, through the local workforce development board or another entity, and regardless of whether the employer chooses to coordinate services with the local workforce development board or another entity, the employer shall include in the notice a functioning email and telephone number of the board and the following description of the rapid response activities offered by the local workforce development board: “Local Workforce Development Boards and their partners help laid off workers find new jobs. Visit an America’s Job Center of California location near you. You can get help with your resume, practice interviewing, search for jobs, and more. You can also learn about training programs to help start a new career.”

This bill amends section 1401 of the Labor Code.

SB 642 — Payment of Wages (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 642 expands pay transparency requirements, by revising the definition of “pay scale” to mean a good-faith estimate of the wage range employers reasonably expect to pay for a position upon hire. Employers with 15 or more employees must include this pay scale in all job postings and provide it to third parties posting jobs on their behalf. Employers are also required to maintain job title and wage rate history records for each employee during their employment and for three years after employment ends.

SB 642 updates the state’s equal pay law and requires that employers may not pay employees less than employees of “another sex” (not just the “opposite sex”) for substantially similar work, and also clarifies that wage discrimination based on race or ethnicity is prohibited. This bill extends the statute of limitations for wage discrimination claims, allowing civil actions to be commenced up to three years after the last date the cause of action occurs, and employees may obtain relief for the entire period a violation exists, up to a maximum of six years.

This bill defines when a cause of action occurs, including when an unlawful compensation decision is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to it, or when its application affects the individual’s pay. SB 642 also defines “wages,” “wage rates” and “sex” for the purposes of these provisions, and clarifies that these definitions do not apply to other sections of the Labor Code.

SB 645 amends sections 432.3 and 1197.5 of the Labor Code.

SB 648 — Gratuities & Enforcement (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law prohibits employer (and their agents, such as managers) from collecting, taking or receiving any or all of a payment given to or left for an employee by a patron, or deducting any amount from wages due an employee on account of a gratuity, or requiring an employee to credit any or all of the amount of a gratuity against and as a part of the wages due the employee from the employer. Also prohibited is an employer deducting from the employee gratuities any amount for credit card payment processing fees or costs that may be charged to the employer by the credit card company. Existing law also requires that payment of gratuities made by patrons using credit cards must be made to the employees not later than the next regular payday following the date the patron authorized the credit card payment.

SB 648 authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld in violation of this law following existing law on issuing, contesting and enforcing judgments for citations and civil penalties issued.

This bill amends section 351 of the Labor Code.

SB 693 — Meal Periods (Effective January 1, 2026)

Existing law generally prohibits an employer from employing an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, with an exception from this prohibition for employees in specified occupations, including employees of an electrical corporation, a gas corporation, or a local publicly owned electric utility covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement meeting certain conditions.

SB 693 creates an additional exception from the above-described prohibition for employees of a water corporation, defined as a corporation or person owning, controlling, operating or managing any water system for compensation within California, covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement meeting certain conditions.

This bill amends Section 512 of the Labor Code.

SB 809 — Employees and Independent Contractors & Construction Trucking (Effective January 1, 2026)

SB 809 confirms that simply owning a vehicle (personal or commercial) used for work does not automatically make a driver an independent contractor. The ABC test still applies, meaning drivers may be classified as independent contractors only if they are free from the hiring entity’s control, do not work outside the hiring entity’s usual course of the business, and are running an independent business.

SB 809 also creates the Construction Trucking Employer Amnesty Program. Under that program, construction contractors who have misclassified drivers as independent contractors can enter a settlement agreement containing certain terms with the Labor Commissioner by January 1, 2029. Such a settlement will relieve employers of liability for most civil and statutory penalties for past misclassification.

SB 809 adds sections 2750.9, 2775.5 and 2802.2 to the Labor Code.