Changes to California Employment Law are Coming in 2026

As the year closes out, on the horizon are changes to California’s employment laws-or really, the starting effective date of already-passed changes. Here are some of the more significant or major ones.

Posting of Your Rights

The first is the start of the Workplace Know Your Rights Act, which is a law that requires that employers place certain disclosures in the workplace, advising workers of their rights in relation to law enforcement and immigration related matters.

Starting in February 2026, employers have to provide in writing notice to workers advising them of their rights when dealing with law enforcement and other matters. The notice must advise workers of rights related to:

• Getting and receiving workers’ compensation benefits
• Handling ICE and immigration related law enforcement actions
• Information of union organization and restriction on employer’s rights to stop organized labor rights
• General constitutional rights when dealing with law enforcement

The law also requires employees to provide employers with a “backup” or “notice person,” that the employer can call, in case the employee is detained or taken away by law enforcement or immigration/ICE officials.

The law prohibits retaliating against any employee who enforces these rights, if the employer isn’t complying with them. And an employer can be fined severely, in the event it does not post these rights. Form notices that employers can use, will be provided by the state in 2026.

Minimum Wage & Wage Judgments

State minimum wages are being raised to $16.90, although many cities and counties have ordinances requiring higher minimum wages — this is just the minimum.

Speaking of wages, if an employer has a wage judgment entered against them for unpaid wages, and doesn’t pay employees what is owed under the judgment for 180 days, the employer can now be penalized up to three times the amount of the judgment.

Paid Leave

Already in effect, having been effective in October 2025 on an emergency basis, is a law that allows employees to use paid sick leave for things like jury duty, being called as a witness in court, or if they are crime victims.

Stay or Pay

As we wrote about previously, so-called “stay or pay” provisions will now be banned. These are contracts that require the employee to pay the employer back for training, onboarding or other expenses for starting work, should the employee’s employment end before a stated amount of time.

Employee File

Although employees always had a right to review their employee file for performance reviews and performance related records, employees will now have a right to review anything in their employee file, that may be related to any education or training provided to them while on the job.

Family Leave

Paid family leave is expanding, allowing employees to get paid leave to care for a “designated person,” who doesn’t have to be family. It can be a non-blood related person who is the equivalent of, or treated as, family. Other California laws already have or allow this designation.

What laws protect you at work? Ask us. Contact the California employment law attorneys at the Costanzo Law Firm today for help.

Sources:

cda.org/newsroom/laws-regulations/coming-in-2026-minimum-wage-bump-protected-paid-leave-expansion-high-penalties-for-unsatisfied-wage-judgments/

edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/