2026 California Labor Law Roundup
The following changes to California employment law take effect on January 1, 2026, and apply to employers of all sizes unless otherwise noted:
Crime Victim Leave
The crime victim leave law will now allow employees who are victims of certain crimes, or have family members who are victims, to take unpaid leave to attend any related judicial proceeding.
Additionally, the definition of "family member" will be expanded to include an employee's grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, and any designated person. Because employees can use paid sick leave for the reasons covered by the crime victim leave law, the sick leave law will now cover this expanded leave entitlement.
Pay Equity
The state's pay equity law will be updated to clarify that "sex" includes gender identity and expression, and to extend protections to pay disparities between any sexes, rather than only between opposite sexes. The law will also define "wages" and "wage rates" to include all forms of compensation, such as stock, profit-sharing, life insurance, and hotel accommodations.
Pay Transparency
The state's pay transparency law, which applies to employers with 15 or more employees, will be updated to require employers to provide a good-faith estimate of the pay rate or range they reasonably expect to offer upon hire for each posted position. (Previously, the law said employers should share what they reasonably expected to pay "for the position"—the new requirement is more specific.)
Personnel Records
The law allowing current and former employees to access their personnel records related to performance will be expanded to include an employee's education and training records.
Pay Data Reporting Recordkeeping
The pay data reporting law, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees, will be updated to require employers to store any demographic information collected for pay data reporting separately from employees' personnel records.
Warn Act Notice
Notices required by the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (Cal/WARN) will now be required to include specific information such as the employer's coordination of services through a workforce development board and other contact information. Additionally, services through a workforce development board, if provided, will need to be arranged within a certain timeframe.
“Stay or Pay” Agreement Prohibited
Employers will be prohibited from using "stay or pay" provisions in employment contracts dated on or after January 1, 2026. These are clauses that require employees to pay a fee or repay a debt to an employer when they terminate employment.
Statewide Minimum Wage and Exempt Salary Threshold
The standard state minimum wage will increase to $16.90 per hour. This will also increase the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees to $70,304 per year. Employers covered by local or industry-specific minimum wages that are higher must comply with those rates.
Local Minimum Wages
The hourly minimum wage in these jurisdictions will increase as follows. If a locality has not yet announced its 2026 rate, TBD (to be determined) appears:
- Belmont: $18.95
- Burlingame: $17.86
- Cupertino: $18.70
- Daly City: $17.50
- East Palo Alto: $17.90
- El Cerrito: $18.82
- Foster City: $17.85
- Half Moon Bay: $17.91
- Hayward (25 or Less Employees): $16.90
- Hayward (26+ Employees): $17.79
- Los Altos: $18.70
- Menlo Park: $17.55
- Mountain View: $19.70
- Novato (25 or Less Employees): $16.90
- Novato (26-99 Employees): $17.46
- Novato (100+ Employees): $17.73
- Oakland: TBD
- Oakland (Hotels w/ Health Benefits): TBD
- Oakland (Hotels w/o Health Benefits): TBD
- Palo Alto: $18.70
- Petaluma: $18.31
- Redwood City: $18.65
- Richmond (w/ Benefits): $17.68
- Richmond (w/o Benefits): $19.18
- San Carlos: $17.75
- San Diego: $17.75
- San Jose: $18.45
- San Mateo City: $18.60
- San Mateo Co. (Unincorpated Areas): $17.95
- Santa Clara City: $18.70
- Santa Rosa: $18.21
- Sonoma City (25 or Less Employees): $17.38
- Sonoma City (26+ Employees): $18.47
- South San Francisco: $18.15
- Sunnyvale: $19.50
- West Hollywood (Non-Hotel Employees): $20.25
Action Items:
Update these policies as needed.
Confirm that you're considering total compensation in your pay equity analysis.
Ensure the pay ranges in your job postings reflect the amount you intend to pay upon hire.
Make sure those responsible for maintaining and responding to requests for personnel files are aware that these records are now covered.
Make and implement a plan for storing pay data reporting demographic information separately from personnel files by January 1, 2026.
If you use "stay or pay" provisions, we recommend working with an attorney to fully understand these restrictions and make the necessary changes.