New Year, New Employment Laws – What Takes Effect January 1, 2026? (California)
Bill / Ordinance / Regulation | Main Topic | Summary | Effective Date |
| Reproductive Health | Prohibits prosecution of pharmacists and other medical professionals for manufacturing, prescribing, or furnishing mifepristone or other medication abortion drugs. Would also prohibit healthcare plans or insurance policies from excluding coverage for mifepristone, even if it has not been approved by the FDA. | January 1, 2026 |
| Labor Law Claims | Allows an employee to petition the Public Employment Relations Board to hear an unfair labor practice case if the NLRB has failed to act in six months. | January 1, 2026 |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Technology | Prohibits a defendant who developed, modified, or used artificial intelligence (AI) from asserting a defense that the AI autonomously caused harm to the plaintiff. | January 1, 2026 |
Paid Sick Leave / Crime Victims Leave (Unpaid) | Allows employees to use leave if they or a family member are a victim of certain crimes and are attending judicial proceedings related to that crime. | January 1, 2026 | |
| Food Delivery Platforms/Tips | Prohibits food delivery platforms (FDPs) from using tips or gratuities to offset the base pay of delivery drivers. Requires FDPs to provide an itemized breakdown of pay received for a delivery and prohibits deducting delivery drivers’ gratuities from customer refunds. | January 1, 2026 |
| Employee Training / Hospitality Industry | Requires restaurants to provide training for all employees upon hire, and annually, on pest prevention practices, pest control procedures, and on the employee’s responsibility to maintain a vermin-free environment. | January 1, 2026 |
| Employment Contracts and Agreements | Prohibits, with certain exceptions, contracts that require a worker to repay an employer, training provider, or debt collector for a debt when the employment relationship or work ends. | January 1, 2026 |
| Garnishments | Requires an employer to provide additional information to the levying officer in an employee wage garnishment. | January 1, 2026 |
| Recall and Reinstatement | Extends until January 1, 2027, the recall and reinstatement rights of employees laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | January 1, 2026 |
| Union Organization/Rideshare Drivers | Allows “transportation network company drivers” (rideshare drivers) who meet certain criteria to unionize and collectively bargain, and provides rules and timetables for union certification. | January 1, 2026 |
| Wage Payment Judgments | Provides for penalties of up to three times the outstanding amount if a final judgment for unpaid wages remains unsatisfied 180 days after the appeal period ends. | January 1, 2026 |
| Notice Requirements | As of February 1, 2026, requires employers to provide notices of labor rights to new employees, and current employees annually, and to notify an employee’s emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained on their worksite. | January 1, 2026 |
| Discrimination and Harassment | Provides that an employee’s assessment, testing, admission, or acknowledgment of their own personal bias, as part of a bias mitigation training, does not constitute unlawful discrimination. | January 1, 2026 |
| Home Health Care | Beginning on January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, requires home care aides to have training on the special needs of clients with dementia before providing home care. | January 1, 2026 |
| Privacy and Data Security | Requires businesses to disclose a data security breach to impacted consumers and the state attorney general within 30 days of the breach. | January 1, 2026 |
| Pay Data Reporting | Increases the job categories for pay data reporting and requires employers to store demographic data separately from personnel records. | January 1, 2026 |
| Discrimination | Defines the term “group or class” for purposes of filing a complaint under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and tolls the time for a complainant to file a civil action in certain circumstances. | January 1, 2026 |
| Personnel Files | Expands the scope of personnel documents employers must allow employees to inspect to include education and training records. | January 1, 2026 |
| Paid Family ⁄ Medical Leave | Permits employees to use paid family leave to care for a “designated person” beginning July 1, 2028, and defines the term. | January 1, 2026 |
| Healthcare | Defines “on-call list” of nurses for purposes of determining whether an administrative penalty is to be assessed for nurse-to-patient ratio violations. | January 1, 2026 |
| Reductions in Force (RIFs ⁄ WARN)
| Expands the information required to be included in notices of mass layoffs, relocation, or termination of a covered establishment under the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN). | January 1, 2026 |
| Pay Transparency | Revises the definition of “pay scale” under the Pay Transparency Law, and extends the statute of limitations for filing suit and the look-back period for calculating damages. | January 1, 2026 |
| Tips | Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities unlawfully taken or withheld by the employer. | January 1, 2026 |
Privacy and Data Security | Requires businesses to conduct cybersecurity audits, risk assessments, and, for businesses that use automated decision-making technologies (ADMT), creates consumer information requirements, and opt-out rights. | January 1, 2026 |