New work laws in California this year

This page is a summary, not legal advice. Each law has details and exceptions. Follow the links before you act. Last updated with laws signed through September 30, 2026.

What changed in 2026?

These took effect January 1, 2026, unless noted (Labor Commissioner letter, December 31, 2025).

Minimum wage: $16.90 an hour for all employers, unless a higher city, health care or fast food rate applies. Your employer must pay the highest rate that covers your job (Minimum wage FAQ). See Minimum wage for Bay Area city rates.

Know your rights notice and emergency contact (SB 294). Employers must give workers a yearly written notice of their workplace rights, covering seven topics set by law, using the Labor Commissioner's template in the worker's language when one exists. The first was due February 1, 2026. Employers also had to let workers name an emergency contact by March 30, 2026. If you asked, your employer must notify that person if you are arrested or detained at work, or during work hours away from the worksite if the employer knows. Penalties reach $500 per worker, and for the emergency contact rule $500 per day per worker, up to $10,000.

Equal pay claims last longer (SB 642). You can file an Equal Pay Act claim up to 3 years after a violation and recover up to 6 years of unequal pay. Each unequal paycheck counts. See Equal pay.

More ways to use paid sick leave (AB 406 and AB 2499). You can now use sick leave for jury duty, for going to court as a witness under a subpoena or court order, and for certain situations when you or a family member is a crime victim. See Paid sick days.

Jury duty and crime victim leave moved to the civil rights law. Job protections for these leaves moved from the Labor Code into the Fair Employment and Housing Act, partly in 2025 and partly in 2026. Complaints about them now go to the Civil Rights Department (Labor Commissioner code section list).

Layoff notices include food help (SB 617). A mass layoff notice under California's WARN law must now include information about CalFresh, the 1-877-847-3663 line, and BenefitsCal (EDD).

Rideshare drivers can organize (AB 1340). Since January 1, 2026, app based rideshare drivers can form driver organizations and bargain as a group, with the Public Employment Relations Board in charge (PERB). See Rights as a rideshare or delivery worker.

What starts January 1, 2027?

New California laws start on January 1 of the next year unless they say otherwise (California Constitution, article IV, section 8).

Minimum wage: $17.40 an hour (DIR news release, August 13, 2026). Salaried "exempt" workers must earn at least twice the state minimum for full time work, which works out to $72,384 a year in 2027 by our math (Labor Code 515).

What changes about immigration threats at work?

Today, California already bars employers from threatening to report workers to immigration because they used a work right. AB 2495 adds a new rule: an employer may not use a worker's real or perceived immigration status in a way that would discourage a worker from using a right, even if there is no complaint yet. Penalty: up to $10,000 per worker per violation (AB 2495, Chapter 748, Statutes of 2026). See If your boss threatens to call immigration.

What is the stay or pay ban?

Some employers make workers sign contracts that say "if you leave before a certain date, you owe us money," for training or other costs. A 2025 law banned many of these starting in 2026. A 2026 law, AB 1697, pushed the start to contracts signed on or after January 1, 2027, and added exceptions, such as approved apprenticeships, some tuition for credentials you can take elsewhere, some bonuses, and repayment of up to 40 hours of advanced paid time off. A worker can sue for actual damages or $5,000, whichever is more (AB 1697, Chapter 889, Statutes of 2026). Contracts signed in 2026 are not covered.

Who counts for bereavement leave in 2027?

California already gives up to five days of bereavement leave at employers with five or more workers, after 30 days on the job, to be used within three months of the death. SB 1149 adds a designated person: someone related by blood, or whose relationship with you is like family. You name the person when you ask for leave. Your employer may limit you to one designated person every 12 months (SB 1149, Chapter 679, Statutes of 2026).

No surveillance in workplace bathrooms

AB 1331 bans using workplace surveillance tools to monitor workers in a workplace bathroom, unless a court orders it, with a penalty of up to $500 per violation (AB 1331, Chapter 851, Statutes of 2026). See Can my employer watch, record or search me at work?

Stronger wage enforcement

• SB 1444 lets individual workers recover the penalties for willful misclassification as an independent contractor under Labor Code 226.8, and lets the Labor Commissioner serve papers electronically when a party agrees (SB 1444, Chapter 162, Statutes of 2026).
• SB 1316 says an employer that did not produce records when the Labor Commissioner asked for them cannot later use those records as evidence, including in retaliation cases. It also lets Labor Commissioner liens on property be renewed for more 10 year periods (SB 1316, Chapter 157, Statutes of 2026).

Farmworkers on temporary job orders

AB 2646 sets a minimum wage of $19.75 an hour for out of state agricultural workers brought in temporarily under a job order approved by the state, and for California residents doing the same work for the same employer in the same county at the same time. It adjusts each year from January 1, 2027 (AB 2646, Chapter 956, Statutes of 2026). The law does not state when the $19.75 rate starts. Under the general rule above that would be January 1, 2027, but some laws that include state spending take effect right away (California Constitution, article IV, section 8). Before you count on a date, ask the Labor Commissioner at 833-526-4636.

What starts later?

• July 1, 2027: limits on "robot bosses." Under SB 947, an employer cannot rely only on an automated decision system to discipline or fire you. If it mainly relied on one, a person must check the result, you must get a written notice, and you can ask for a description of your data the system used (SB 947, Chapter 859, Statutes of 2026).
• July 1, 2028: Paid Family Leave for a designated person. Under SB 590, you will be able to get PFL to care for a designated person. Until then, chosen family is not on the PFL list (EDD).

What did not become law?

AB 1940, which would have added menopause and related conditions to the definition of sex in California's civil rights law, was vetoed on September 30, 2026 (LegiScan). Sex discrimination is still illegal under existing law. See What counts as illegal discrimination.

What should I do now?

1. Check your pay in January 2027 against the new minimum wage and your city's rate.
2. Look for your rights notice. If you never got the yearly SB 294 notice, ask for it.
3. Name an emergency contact at work if you want one notified if you are detained.
4. Read before you sign any training repayment or "stay" agreement. Ask whether it was signed before or after January 1, 2027.
5. Keep records of threats, pay and schedules on your own phone.

Your rights do not depend on your immigration status. California's labor laws protect all workers (DIR).

Who can help?

These are free public offices and nonprofit clinics. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• California Labor Commissioner: wages, sick leave and retaliation, with phone interpreters. 833-526-4636. Labor Commissioner
• California Civil Rights Department: discrimination, harassment, jury duty and crime victim leave. 800-884-1684. CRD
• Legal Aid at Work Workers' Rights Clinic: free and confidential within income limits or age 60 and over. 415-864-8848; East Palo Alto line (415) 404-9093. Workers' Rights Clinic
• More options: Free help with a work problem in the Bay Area

Questions people ask

My boss says the new laws do not apply to small businesses. Is that true? It depends on the law. The minimum wage applies to all employers. Bereavement leave applies at five or more workers. Ask a clinic about the law that matters to you.

I signed a training repayment agreement in 2026. Is it void? The new ban covers contracts signed on or after January 1, 2027, so it does not reach a 2026 contract. Ask a clinic before you pay anything.

Does AB 2495 stop immigration agents from coming to my job? No. It controls what your employer does. It does not bind federal agents. See If immigration agents come to your work.

Is there a checklist I can print?

New laws only help if people use them. Share this page with a coworker.