The city just expanded its Fair Chance Ordinance. Under the new amendment, employers are now prohibited from considering out-of-state criminal convictions or arrests tied to conduct that’s lawful in California, including abortion-related healthcare, gender-affirming care, drag performances, and miscarriage-related care.
On July 8, 2026, in a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit (which includes California) interpreted the effective date of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA). As previously discussed in PERKS, the EFAA enables employees asserting sexual harassment or sexual assault claims to proceed in court to litigate certain claims despite the existence of a pre-dispute arbitration agreement with their employer.
On July 31 Governor Newsom announced that California’s statewide minimum wage will increase to $17.40 per hour, effective January 1, 2027.
This will impact both exempt and non-exempt employees in California, as the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees is tied to the minimum wage. Accordingly, as of January 1, 2027, the minimum annual salary
California Employers:
Governor Newsom signed an executive order on May 21, 2026 directing various California agencies to study AI’s impact on the state’s labor market, including potential disproportionate impacts on certain demographic groups. The order demonstrates the executive branch’s appetite for enacting new AI-related employment regulations.
Key directives include requiring the Labor and Workforce Development
In wage and hour news, on April 21, 2026, a former hourly employee filed a proposed California class action against a well-known consumer online review and local-business search platform alleging, among other claims, that the company failed to pay for “pre-shift” time spent waiting for work computers to boot up (and for additional login delays)
In more DEI news, a federal court in California rejected a former news anchor’s “reverse” discrimination claim against CBS and Paramount Broadcasting, in which he claimed that he was fired due to his race (white). The court found that the mere fact that the anchor’s replacement was Black and that CBS had in place certain
California Employers: personnel records access/recordkeeping obligations are newly expanded!
California employers were already required to provide current and former employees with access to personnel records relating to their performance or to any grievance concerning the employee.
Under SB 513, which was recently signed into law, this obligation has been expanded to specifically include education and
Attention California employers
The California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act will require new additional disclosures effective January 1, 2026.
The California WARN Act requires employers with 75 or more employees to give at least 60 days’ advance notice of a mass layoff, plant closure, or relocation of 100 or more miles. Notably, the California
