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Overview of 2026 Employment Law Changes
It is a new year in California and that means a new set of updates to the state's labor and employment laws.
The purpose of this article is, as always, to briefly highlight in relatively plain language one or more of the most relevant updates to the law that employers and employees will be faced with this year.
Every year various organizations, including the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency put together a summary of some of the laws that have changed. (https://www.labor.ca.gov/2025/12/31/new-worker-protections-taking-effect-in-california-on-january-1-2026/) Amusingly, the LWDA update underscores the concern that many of the organizations putting together these summaries often struggle with keeping the various bills straight, putting things in plain language, or listing niche topics. For example, that LWDA summary presently links to a 2023 bill about greenhouse gas emissions in lieu of providing the promised detail about increasing "accountability for unpaid wage judgments". Likewise, that LWDA summary includes information about increased protections for rideshare drivers wanting to join a union but omits any reference to a new requirement to provide a separate written notice of workers' rights to every employee in the state or face monetary fines. And that is a good place to start.
Workplace Know Your Rights Act
Beginning February 1, 2026, every employer must provide an annual written notice of workers rights. That requirement comes from the "Workplace Know Your Rights Act". A template notice is available from the Labor Commissioner. (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Know-Your-Rights-Notice/Know-Your-Rights-Notice-English.pdf). You may want to bookmark that link, as the State's common use of the phrase "know your rights" makes locating that important notice unusually difficult for something that every employer must provide to every employee.
The same bill also requires employers to provide notice to an employee's emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained while on the job. Violations of either of these requirements can lead to prosecution, including obligations to pay attorney fees, punitive damages, and a $500 (per employee) fine. In the case of providing notice to an emergency contact, that fine can be $500 fine per day.
Personnel File Obligations
Employers in California have learned that one of the first signs you are about to be sued by an employee is that employee requesting (directly, or through counsel) a copy of their personnel file and pay records. The HR departments of California employers of any significant size therefore have become increasingly familiar with putting together the various records that the statutes identify as being part of 'personnel records."
Existing law requires production of many records relating to performance of an employee and grievances (and write-ups) relating to an employee. The new law expands the requirement to also maintain, and produce upon request, copies of documents relating to employee training and education. This is an update to existing Labor Code § 1198.5 (bill available here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB513 ).
Pay Scale Disclosure Requirements
On a rare note of the law being clarified to more closely match its purpose and avoid unintended consequences, one of the equal pay laws (Labor Code § 432.23) was amended. That law requires, among other things, that employers disclose to an applicant for employment what the "pay scale" for the position would be. That term was originally defined as "the salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position" and has been amended to be defined as "a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire". (The bill is available here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB642 ; and a side-by-side summary of the two versions of the resulting law is available here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/displayCodeAndBill.xhtml?sectionNum=432.3.&billVersionSectionId=4363913&lawCode=LAB ).
Additional Employment Law Updates
New laws also increase the minimum wage, increase the application of who can be cared for to qualify for paid family leave, provided expanded leave for victims of violence, extend certain COVID re-hire protections, provide stricter rules for employers trying to withhold a portion of employee tips, require more detail in pay and demographic reporting, and otherwise.
Consult An Employment Law Attorney
If you have an ongoing legal dispute, need individualized advice, or do not have time to read and apply every statute on the books, you should consult with an attorney. Madison Law handles employment disputes of all kinds, including disputes over the payments of wages, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, and many other issues.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
