Stand-alone written notices — plus an emergency-contact mandate — make SB 294 one of the most concrete compliance tasks of the year.
Read the full brief →The state has certified next year’s wage floor. The exempt-salary line moves with it, so January 1 is the date to have your salaried roster checked.
SB 1149 lets employees take California’s protected bereavement leave for a designated person — someone who is family in everything but paperwork.
A minimum-wage bump is easy to see. The salary you must pay to keep an employee overtime-exempt is the number that catches people off guard.
SB 642 defines a “pay scale” as a good-faith estimate — and stretches the window to bring an equal-pay claim.
AB 1697 delays California’s ban on clawbacks that make departing employees repay their employer, and carves out new exceptions for bonuses, PTO advances, and more.
SB 617 expands what a Cal-WARN notice must contain — pointing affected workers toward real resources, not just dates.
SB 590 will let workers take Paid Family Leave to care for a designated person — not only a legal relative. It’s coming in 2028, and it’s worth planning for now.
The U.S. Department of Labor restored the older, lower federal salary threshold for exempt employees — but California’s higher number is the one that governs here.
The EEOC has proposed eliminating the demographic report that’s been a fixture since 1966. It’s a proposal, not a done deal — keep filing until it is.
Shorter items we’re watching — worth a note now, a fuller write-up if they heat up.
Steeper penalties for skipping pay data reports
Starting January 1, 2027, repeat failures to file California’s annual pay data report can cost up to $1,000 per employee, up from $200.
Harassment training must cover hate speech
From January 1, 2028, employers with 5+ employees must fold anti-hate-speech content into their existing harassment prevention training — no extra hours required.
Sex discrimination, defined more broadly
Effective January 1, 2027, FEHA’s definition of sex discrimination expressly covers discrimination based on gender stereotypes. A companion menopause bill (AB 1940) was vetoed.
Restraining orders that cover your whole workplace
Effective January 1, 2027, employers can seek a workplace violence restraining order protecting all employees at a location without naming each one.
Serious Cal/OSHA cases go to prosecutors in two counties
A pilot program in Alameda and Santa Clara counties sends workplace fatalities and incidents seriously injuring five or more workers to the district attorney.
Training records join your personnel files
Harassment, discrimination, and skills-training records are now part of the personnel file employees can request — generally within 30 days.
Bias-training admissions are protected
A good-faith admission of personal bias made during bias-mitigation training isn’t, by itself, evidence of unlawful discrimination.
Sick leave for crime-victim proceedings
Employees who are crime victims — or whose family members are — may use paid sick leave to attend related judicial proceedings, with an expanded list of covered crimes.
A federal “joint employer” rule is in the works
The U.S. DOL proposed clarifying when businesses are joint employers across the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA — relevant to franchises, staffing, and contractors.
That’s exactly the kind of thing a quick consultation answers. Senior, confidential, and specific to your business.
Book a consultationAbout The Brief. The Brief is a plain-language roundup of employment-law developments for California employers, published by The HR Meeting LLC. It is general information, current as of October 2026, and not legal advice; laws change and the details of how a rule applies depend on your situation. For advice on your business, talk with us or a qualified employment attorney, and rely on the official statutory text for authoritative language.
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