Laws Concerning Wages and Hours
1. Minimum Wage
California’s statutory minimum wage is $16.50 per hour (as of January 1, 2025)
Workers at healthcare facilities and fast food establishments are paid different minimum wages
- $20.00 an hour for qualified fast-food employees.
- Depending on the kind of healthcare establishment they work for, eligible healthcare workers may earn between $18.00 and $24.00 an hour.
California minimum wage exemptions
The following are exempt from California’s minimum wage regulations:
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- Outside salespeople.
- Apprentices under the Apprenticeship Standards Division of the State.
- Employees who are wives, parents, or children of their employers.
- Learners must be compensated no less than eighty-five percent of the minimum wage for their first 160-hour period of employment in a job where they have no previous work experience. Once the initial 160 hours are completed, the minimum wage is applicable.
In the past, companies were allowed to pay sub-minimum wages to workers with disabilities. As of 1st January 2025, this was over.
County and city minimum wage regulations
Certain counties and localities have minimum salaries that are greater than the state minimum. Some employers may also be subject to federal minimum wage requirements. Employers are required to pay workers the highest possible minimum wage in cases when numerous minimum wage regulations are applicable.
2. California Labor Law Concerning Minimum Wage with Tipping
California does not have a minimum wage that is tipped.
The worker who gets the tip is the exclusive owner of it. A percentage cannot be taken by the employer. Tips are not considered wages. When determining a worker’s regular pay rate for extra hours, tips are not included.
After employees get a tip, their employers are required to offer them credit card tips during the following regular pay cycle. So long as the business does not keep a portion of the tips, they can mandate tip pooling, in which workers divide tips among themselves in accordance with a predetermined regulation.
3. California Labor Law Concerning Meal Breaks
According to California labor law, businesses are required to give workers:
- A minimum of one 30-minute break for a meal after every five hours of work in a row. If both the company and the worker agree and the worker works no longer than six hours, this can be excused.
- An additional 30-minute dinner break for those who put in more than ten hours in a row. If both the company and the worker agree and the worker works no longer than twelve hours, this can be excused.
The employee’s break qualifies as hours spent and must be compensated at their regular rate of pay unless they are released from all job responsibilities and allowed to depart during their break.
Meal breaks for employees must be documented by employers.
Employers who don’t provide their workers with enough meal breaks are required to give them an extra hour for every day they miss. For overtime reasons, these extra wages are not considered hours worked.
Workers in the mining, construction, film, logging, drilling, and healthcare sectors are subject to special rules and exemptions.
4. Rest Breaks
For every 4 hours labored, employers are required to give workers a 10-minute undisturbed rest break. This includes the location where the worker spent the majority of the four hours—that is, more than two hours.
Employers must offer:
- A first rest period between 3.5 & six hours of work.
- Second one between six and ten hours.
- Third between ten and fourteen hours.
Employees should take rest periods as close to the center of their workday as feasible. A rest break is not necessary for workers who put in less than 3.5 hours.
Employers are required to compensate workers for rest periods at their usual pay rate, and they count toward the number of hours worked.
Employers are required to provide enough rest areas for staff members (bathrooms excluded). Employers are not allowed to mandate that workers stay on duty or on call throughout a break.
Along with their meal & rest breaks, workers who are exposed to harsh weather conditions, such as intense heat, must be permitted paid five-minute breaks in a sheltered area as often as necessary.
For every day that an employee does not receive a rest break, employers that do not provide sufficient rest breaks must pay them an extra hour at their regular rate of pay.
Certain workers are subject to particular rest laws, such as those employed by residential care facilities, dancers, workers in construction, security and safety personnel at gas pumps, and staff members of fishing-related commercial vessels.
5. California Labor Law about Recordkeeping
For a minimum of three years, employers are required to maintain both digital and paper payroll records for every employee. All employees’ names and addresses must be included in these documents, together with information about their every day hours worked, wages received, and, if relevant, the quantity of piece-rate items produced and their rate of pay.
Employees’ workplaces or a central space must house payroll records.
Workers are entitled to view and obtain copies of their payroll documents. An employee may pursue a $750 compensation if the employer does not furnish these records to them within twenty-one days of the employee’s request.
The Civil Rights Department must receive an annual wage data report from employers with at least 100 workers. The mean and median hourly wages of its workers by sex, race, and ethnicity for each job type must be included in this report.
6. California Labor Law Concerning Employee Scheduling
Several cities have predictive scheduling regulations, but California does not.
Berkeley
The following are covered by Berkeley’s predictive scheduling regulations:
- Businesses that employ a minimum of 56 people globally in the building services, retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, or warehouse service sectors.
- Berkeley restaurants with ten or more staff members, and those with 100 or more worldwide.
- Workers who don’t make twice the minimum wage.
They mandate that firms provide workers with:
- A written timetable estimate that was made in good faith prior to beginning work.
- Work schedules with two weeks’ notice.
- Clopening shifts, in which a person works the last shift of the day and then the next starting shift, are separated by eleven hours.
When a shift is canceled or altered after workers have been informed of their schedule, employers are required to pay them.
Emeryville
Fast-food establishments with a minimum of 56 employees worldwide plus twenty staff members in Emeryville are subject to Emeryville’s predictive scheduling requirements, as are retail employers having a minimum of 56 employees internationally.
Employers must provide workers with a:
- An honest assessment of their job schedule.
- A sincere assessment of their expected shifts with a minimum of 14 days notification.
- When a shift is canceled or altered after workers have been informed of their schedule, employers are required to pay them.
San Francisco
Retail employers having no less than 40 sites worldwide and 20 San Francisco employees are subject to the city’s predictive scheduling requirements.
Companies need to:
- Give prospective hires a documented, sincere estimate of the number of shifts they should expect each month.
- Give workers a minimum of fourteen days’ notice to make an honest estimate of their timetable at work.
- If the timetable is altered with less than seven days’ notice, provide workers an extra one to four hours, depending on the duration of their shift and the amount of notice provided.
San Jose
Companies with a minimum of 36 workers who either have San Jose-based locations or are liable for the San Jose Company License Tax are subject to the city’s predictive scheduling requirements.
Employers must provide current part-time workers more hours before hiring additional staff. There are a few exceptions, such as in situations when it would be difficult for the employer to comply.
Benefits and Compensation for Employees
1. California Labor Law Concerning Overtime
In addition to the federal FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) overtime restrictions, California has a separate overtime statute. The FLSA mandates that employees receive 1.5 times the normal wage rate for every hour above forty in a workweek; California’s overtime statute goes beyond this requirement.
California law requires companies to compensate non-exempt workers for all overtime at a rate that is 1.5 times their usual rate:
- Over 8 hours in one workday (as much as 12 hours, if possible).
- A seventh day of work in a row (up to eight hours).
- Over forty hours per week.
When working, employees have the right to overtime compensation at twice their regular rate:
- Over twelve hours in one workday.
- On the seventh straight workday, more than eight hours.
Irrespective of whether the employer approved the overtime or not, overtime pay rates are applicable.
Professional actors, individuals working in the IT software industry, and executive, managerial, and professional personnel are exempt from overtime rules.
2. Pay for Reporting Time
According to California labor rules, if an employee shows up for work but is sent home right away or if they put in less than fifty percent of their allotted workday, they must be given reporting time pay.
Half of the planned day’s work at the worker’s regular pay rate is used to determine reporting time, which might be as little as two hours or as much as four hours.
The employee must be compensated for two hours at their usual rate of pay if they must present themselves to work twice in a single workday and are given less than two hours of labor.
- Going to work.
- Confirming their availability for the on-call shift by calling in.
- Remotely accessing a computer.
- Going to a client’s workplace.
There are some exclusions to reporting time compensation, such as when an interruption in work occurs because of:
- Threats—like a bomb threat—made against workers or property.
- The counsel of the civil authorities.
- A breakdown of public utilities, such as gas, water, or electricity.
- Occurrences that are beyond the employer’s control, such as natural calamity.
When a worker’s employment is ended, they must be paid for their reporting time, which is considered pay.
3. Payday Method and Frequency
Generally speaking, employers are required to pay employees’ wages on regular, defined paydays at least two times every calendar month. Certain employees, such as those working for agriculture-related contractors and executive, managerial, and professional staff, are exempt from this rule.
Payment for wages earned between the first and the fifteenth of each month shall be made by the twenty-sixth day of that month at the latest. Payment for income earned from the sixteenth to the final day of every month shall be made by the tenth day of the subsequent month at the latest.
When overtime is earned, employers are required to pay it by the next normal payday at the latest. Additionally, they have to put up a sign in the office that specifies the day, time, and place of wage payments.
If an employee agrees, they may be paid in check, check, or by wire transfer into their account.
4. California Labor Law Paystub Requirements
Paystubs must be given to workers by their employers at the moment of payment or every six months. Salaried workers who are exempt from overtime are not included in this.
These paystubs must contain the following:
- The last four digits of the worker’s employee identification number, often known as their Social Security number and their name.
- The legal name & address of the employer.
- Dates that are included in the employee’s pay cycle.
- Total number of hours spent.
- The relevant number of hours completed and the corresponding hourly rates.
- Gross pay for the employee.
- Pay rate and, if appropriate, piece-rate units earned.
- Deductions.
- Net pay.
Additionally, when workers are paid, they must be given written notification of the paid time off or sick leave they have accrued. On the paystubs, a lot of companies include a field for this.
Electronic paystubs are available from employers. They must, however, offer paper copies to staff members as an alternative.
5. California Labor Law: Wage Deductions & Garnishments
- Wages can be withheld by employers in the following situations:
- Federal or state law requires them to do so, including when a court orders them to fulfill a debt
- They cover deductions such as insurance premiums or payments to benefit plans with the consent of the employee.
- The pay or collective bargaining contract gives them the authority to do so.
Generally speaking, a court order is required before creditors, including credit card companies, can garnish a worker’s pay. Generally, a court judgment is not required to garnish earnings from other creditors, such as federal education loans, child support, and taxes.
The maximum amount that a creditor can take away from an employee is 25% of their weekly disposable income, or 50% of the amount that their weekly disposable income surpasses forty times the state’s minimum wage per hour, whichever is lower.
6. Final Paycheck Regulations
An employer who fires an employee is required to pay them their full salary right away.
When an employee leaves with a minimum 72-hour notification, the employer is required to pay them their entire salary right away.
If an employee leaves with less than 72-hour notice, the employer is required to pay them their full salary within 72 hours following the employee’s departure.
Surplus vacation time that has accrued must be accounted for in the final paycheck.
Any last paychecks that are late are subject to waiting time fines. For every day up to thirty days that wages are not paid, these are computed at the employee’s daily rate.
The film and oil drilling sectors, live entertainment locations, and seasonal laborers engaged in food curing, preserving, or drying are all subject to specific final payout restrictions.
7. Workers’ Compensation
By law, businesses in California of any size must carry workers’ compensation insurance if an employee is unwell or hurt at work. Criminal fines will be imposed on companies that do not get insurance for workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation payouts come in five different varieties:
- Medical care, such as prescription drugs, procedures, and doctor visits.
- Benefits for temporary disabilities, which pay a portion of an employee’s salary if they are unable to return to their job within three days of becoming ill or injured.
- Benefits for permanent disability are determined by a number of factors, such as the employee’s age, occupation, and the severity of their condition.
- Additional job displacement compensation in cases where a worker is unable to get back to work due to retraining related to their education.
- Death benefits, such as financial assistance to dependents and burial costs.
The compensation policy of the business determines the precise benefits that an employee is eligible for. A poster educating employees about workers’ compensation and how to get medical care must be displayed in the workplace by employers.
Workers have 30 days from the date of the illness or injury to notify the company in writing of any illnesses or injuries sustained on the job that require medical attention beyond first assistance.
The Information & Assistance Unit of the DWC (Division of Worker’s Compensation) can provide assistance in the case of a dispute. An employee may submit a matter to the DWC seeking a judge’s decision if their petition is rejected. Independent medical assessments are required for disagreements regarding medical treatment.
8. Unemployment Insurance
In a given year, any company that pays a Californian worker more than $100 in salary is required to pay the employee’s unemployment insurance tax.
A worker’s unemployment insurance tax is computed as a percentage of the initial $7,000 in earnings. For two to three years, the current rate for new employers is 3.4%.
In order to qualify for unemployment insurance, a worker needs to:
- Possess sufficient income from base period earnings, as assessed by the EDD (Employment Development Department).
- Be completely or partially unemployed due to circumstances beyond their control.
- Have the physical capacity and availability to labor.
- Be prepared and eager to start working right away.
Generally speaking, an employee who quits without cause or was fired for misconduct is not qualified for unemployment compensation.
Benefit levels range from $40 to $450 per week. During a period of twelve months, eligible persons may initially receive payments for a maximum of 26 weeks. This can be prolonged by as much as thirteen weeks under specific circumstances. Benefit extensions could occur more than once during times of high unemployment.
Workers can apply for unemployment compensation on the Internet, over the phone, by mail, or by fax at California’s EDD.
Workplace Protections and Rights
1. Discrimination & Harassment
Private companies with five or more workers are prohibited by California law from treating workers differently based on a protected trait, such as:
- Race (which includes hair texture)
- Color.
- National origin or Ancestry.
- Creed or religion.
- Age (over 40).
- Gender or Sex.
- Sexual orientation.
- Gender expression or identity.
- Physical or mental disabilities
- Medical condition.
- Reproductive health choices.
- Genetic information.
- Veteran status.
- Marital status.
- Cannabis use beyond the workplace (limited exceptions).
Job postings, interviews, promotions, termination, pay, and training are all covered by this prohibition.
No employer can harass an employee due to the protected features of that person. No adverse actions such as firing or demotion, can be taken against workers for exercising their rights under anti-discrimination laws.
Any employer with at least five employees must provide sexual harassment training. All supervisory employees have to be given two hours of this training every two years, whereas nonsupervisory staff get just one hour.
Employees and job candidates can file cases of discrimination to the CRD (Civil Rights Department), which will look into the matter and assist in resolving it through dispute resolution. Workers typically have three years from the date of the claimed discrimination to complain to CRD.
The CRD has the right to sue an employer if it has a reasonable suspicion that the firm has broken anti-discrimination rules and the parties cannot agree on a solution. After first receiving a Right-to-Sue notification from the CRD, workers may also file a lawsuit against the business, either alongside or before a CRD investigation.
Back & front wages, reinstatement, training, policy changes, damages, and court fees are among possible remedies for job discrimination.
California employers are likewise subject to the federal government’s anti-discrimination laws.
2. Leave Laws
Family & Medical Leave
Employers with five or more workers are required by the California Family Rights Act to offer a maximum of twelve weeks of leave without pay in the following situations:
- A significant health condition.
- Look after a parent, spouse, child, or other family member dealing with a severe illness.
- Becoming a child’s birth parent, adoptive parent, or foster parent.
- The deployment of a parent, spouse, or kid to the military.
Someone who has a blood connection or an equivalent of a familial connection with the worker is considered a designated person.
Employees who have worked for a company for a full year are eligible for this leave.
Paid Sick Leave
A minimum of forty hours or 5 days of paid time off for illness must be provided to employees annually. A worker must have been employed for the same company for a minimum of thirty days in a single year and accrued 90 work days prior to seeking sick leave in order to be eligible for paid leave.
Certain workers—such as railroad workers and cabin crew—are exempt from this leave, and those protected by collective bargaining contracts are subject to alternative rules.
Sick leave may be used by an employee:
- For their personal health, including treatment and preventative care.
- To take care of a relative who has a medical issue. Parents, kids, spouses, recognized domestic partners, grandkids, grandparents, siblings, and other selected individuals are all considered family members.
Employees may also take this leave starting on 1st January 2025, if they or someone in their family has been the target of a crime. This leave must be provided by all companies so that workers can seek associated relief, including a restraining order. For a broader range of circumstances, companies with more than twenty-five workers are required to provide this leave, including:
- Obtaining medical attention for injuries sustained in a crime
- Assisting family members in obtaining counseling or medical care.
Employers have the option of offering paid sick leave to workers upfront or accumulating it at a pace of at least one hour for every thirty hours worked.
Sick leave accrual may be capped by employers at eighty hours or ten days, whichever is greater.
Employers are required to provide a minimum of forty hours of paid time off for medical reasons in order to fulfill their duties. Employers are not required to offer additional separate sick leave if workers are able to use another kind of leave, such as paid time off for medical reasons.
Paid Family Leave
In some circumstances, California’s State Disability Insurance plan offers up to eight weeks of paid time off for families. This permits a worker to take time off, if qualified, to care for someone who is ill, spend time with a child, or deal with a parent, spouse, or child being deployed to the military.
Before employees could receive paid family leave, their employers might mandate that they use two weeks of vacation pay leave. As of 1st January, this option is removed.
Pregnancy & Parental Leave
Employers are not required by law in California to offer paid pregnancy or parental leave.
However, companies in California that employ five or more people are required to provide pregnancy disability leave for a minimum of 122 days. This permits workers to take leave off due to an impairment resulting from pregnancy or a birth-related illness.
Vacation & Personal Leave
Employers are exempt from providing paid time off for personal or vacation reasons. Employers are required to include any accumulated, unused vacation time in an employee’s last paycheck when they do, though.
While they can limit leave accruals, employers are not allowed to implement a “use it else lose it” practice for accrued vacation time.
Holiday Leave
Holiday leave, whether paid or unpaid, is not mandatory for private employers. Employers are required to abide by the guidelines outlined in their applicable employment contracts or policies if they do.
3. Jury duty and other forms of required leave
California offers a variety of additional forms of obligatory leave.
Jury Leave
If workers give their employer enough notice, they can take time off to serve on juries or testify as subpoenaed witnesses. Employers are not required to provide paid leave for jury duty.
Domestic Violence Leave
In order to ensure the protection of themselves and their children, victims of domestic abuse may take time off to submit an application for restraining orders or other forms of relief.
Companies with at least twenty-five workers must also provide time off for workers who have experienced domestic abuse or whose loved ones have experienced it so they can receive victim support, and psychological, and medical care. Depending on the grounds for taking it, this leave has a cap.
Employees who have acquired paid leave, such as personal, sick, or vacation leave, may take time off to address domestic violence concerns.
Generally speaking, employers are not allowed to demand documentation from workers in order for them to take this kind of absence.
If an employee is planning to take time off, they should let their employer know in a fair way. But, if the staff member is able to present a court order and written statement proving they could not let the company know before, they should not be disciplined.
Bereavement Leave
Employers with five or more workers are required to offer workers who have been with the company for a minimum of thirty days at least five days of bereavement leave. Paid leave is not required for bereavement leave.
Employees who have lost a family member—a child, spouse, parent, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, parent-in-way, or domestic partner—are eligible to use this leave.
Employees who suffer a reproductive loss are eligible for special mourning leave. Workers who have been employed by a company with more than five staff members for at least thirty days are eligible for up to five days of absence for:
- A failed surrogacy, adoption, or assisted reproduction attempt.
- A miscarriage.
- A baby that is stillborn.
Employees need to utilize this leave within three months of the event, and it is not required to be paid. In order to offset numerous reproductive losses, employers may restrict it to twenty days annually.
Voting Leave
If an employee does not have enough non-work hours to cast a ballot, employers are required to provide up to two hours of paid time off. Workers who wish to go on voting leave must notify their employer three days in advance.
Emergency Response Leave
Workers who need to respond to emergencies can take covered unpaid absences. These consist of emergency rescue workers, volunteer firemen, and reserve security personnel.
Companies with 50 or more workers are required to provide a maximum of fourteen days of leave without pay annually so that workers can attend planned training on emergency response.
School Leave
Workers who look after school-age children are permitted to take unpaid leave to handle disciplinary issues at school.
In order for guardians and parents to take part in school events or respond to an emergency at school, larger companies with at least 25 staff members must also provide unpaid general school engagement leave.
Employees must be permitted unpaid leave in the event that no compensated time off is available, even if employers may mandate that workers use their accumulated paid leave toward school-related purposes.
Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Leave
Companies with more than fifteen workers are required to provide paid & unpaid leave to workers who donate their organs. This leave is paid for the first thirty days and unpaid for the remaining thirty. Workers may be obliged to donate their organs using 15 days of paid leave that they have accrued.
Furthermore, employees get at least five days of paid leave when they are bone marrow donors. For this reason, employers can require staff to take paid time off.
Employees may be asked to provide supporting documentation by their employers attesting to the donation’s medical need.
Laws Concerning Child Labor
With very few exceptions, everyone below the age of eighteen must get a permit in order to work. Typically, the minor’s school district issues certificates.
A permit sets a limit on the maximum daily and weekly hours a minor may work, the time of day they may work, and additional rules or guidelines.
1. When classes are in session
Children aged 12 & 13
Only able to work on weekends and during school breaks. No work prior to or following school is possible.
Children aged 14 & 15
If students have finished the seventh grade, they can spend up to three hours prior to or following school each day.
Up to eight hours per day and a maximum of eighteen hours per week on days when school is not in session.
Children aged 16 & 17
If they have finished the seventh grade, up to four hours each day throughout the school day.
Up to eight hours on days when there is no school or the day preceding a non-school day, with a weekly maximum of forty-eight hours.
2. When classes are not in session
Children aged 12 & 13
Up to eight hours every day and a maximum of forty hours every week.
Children aged 14 & 15
Up to eight hours every day and a maximum of forty hours every week.
Children aged 16 & 17
Up to eight hours every day and a maximum of forty-eight hours every week.
3. Limitations on Hours
Children aged 12 & 13
On all other days, except those from Jun 1 to Labor Day, when they can stay until 9 pm, their workday begins at 7 am and ends at 7 pm.
Children aged 14 & 15
On all other days, except those from Jun 1 to Labor Day, when they can stay until 9 pm, their workday begins at 7 am and ends at 7 pm.
Children aged 16 & 17
5 am to 10 pm, or 12:30 am on an evening prior to a school day.
4. Restrictions on the kinds of work
Children aged 12 & 13
Cannot be involved in a work experience educational course or work in a dangerous job that is off-limits to other minors.
Children aged 14 & 15
Cannot work in a variety of jobs, such as dangerous jobs that are off-limits to those aged 16 and 17, jobs involving machines or cars, or jobs in manufacturing or mining.
Children aged 16 & 17
Are prohibited by federal regulations from working in a dangerous occupation. Includes mining, roofing, sawmilling, and packing meat. Unable to do some duties at a gas station, such as selling lottery tickets or alcoholic beverages, sans adult supervision.
Adolescents employed in the entertainment sector are subject to distinct regulations.
An employer may face criminal charges, fines, or even jail time if they violate any child labor regulations.
Health and Safety at the Workplace
Cal/OSHA oversees workplace safety in California. In order to guarantee that workplaces are safe and healthy, Cal/OSHA may inspect businesses without notice.
The job environment must be made safe and healthy for all the workers by employers. Employers have a number of duties resulting from this such as:
- Establishing a draft Injury & Illness Prevention Plan and frequently updating it.
- Performing workplace checks to discover health and safety issues and then deal with them.
- Supply workers with the right personal protective gear when it’s required.
- Setting up labels, banners, and signs to alert employees to the risk of hurt or harm.
- Displaying the Cal/OSHA banner so staff members understand what they are required to do and not do.
- Completing any training or medical exams that Cal/OSHA may demand.
- Keeping the required safety and health documentation.
- Putting together a plan to prevent workplace violence.
- Recording every instance of violence at work.
It is a requirement for employers to let Cal/OSHA know immediately when a serious accident, serious injury, or death happens at work. If you do not line up within the eight-hour period, you could be fined as much as five thousand dollars.
If something at work might lead to an illness or injury for workers, it is required that they report it to their employer. Health and safety at work laws are requirements that companies and their drivers must obey.
Workers are entitled to:
- Inform about dangerous working conditions to Cal/OSHA.
- During a visit or audit, report hazardous working conditions to a Cal/OSHA inspector.
- Refer to the Injury & Illness Prevention Program offered by their workplace.
- Avoid doing risky work.
Workers who exercise their rights to health and safety at work are also shielded from employer reprisals.
Preventing Heat Illness
New rules for preventing indoor heat disease went into effect on 23rd July 2024. Workplaces with interior temperatures of 82°F or greater are subject to these rules.
Employers are required to establish a plan to prevent indoor heat illness, make sure workers get the necessary cool-down places, and offer drinking water.
In addition, they must take measurements and log temperatures, put workable controls in place, and teach staff how to spot the signs of heat illness. Employers are required to adhere to both outdoor and indoor heat illness prevention requirements for businesses that combine outdoor and indoor labor.
Regulations for Labor Unions
California does not support the right to work. This implies that as a requirement of employment, employers have the authority to demand that workers pay union fees or enter a union. Employees risk losing a job offer or having their employment canceled if they decline.
Employees who form, join, or support a union are not subject to discrimination or retaliation from their employers.
Employment Contracts & Severance
1. Laws Governing Employment Contracts
Employment agreements may be written or verbal, explicit or implicit. In an explicit contract, both the company and the worker state and agree to the parameters of the agreement. The parties’ words or actions suggest that they agree to specific terms in an implied agreement.
California is a state with at-will employment. This implies that either the employer or the employee may end the agreement at any moment and for any reason. Nonetheless, the parties may explicitly or implicitly agree on differing provisions in their contract of employment. Other exclusions include situations in which a collective bargaining contract is applicable or in which the termination violates public policy, such as when it constitutes discrimination.
As long as the negotiations are legal, both employees and employers are often free to discuss any and all elements of a written contract of employment. Wages, leave, scheduling, compensation, severance, and grievance processes are all included in this.
Non-compete agreements are illegal in California and must not be a part of employment contracts. Employment contracts, however, may forbid workers from unlawful competition, such as exploiting a former employer’s client list.
California usually does not allow solicitation to be restricted. Still, some specific situations allow an exception, most commonly to make sure that companies’ trade secrets are protected.
Non-disclosure agreements pertaining to settlements for discrimination or workplace harassment are likewise forbidden.
2. Severance Pay
Employers in California are not legally obligated to provide severance pay to workers who are fired. They have the option to offer it, though. For information on any severance compensation that may be available to them, an employee should consult their contract of employment or the employer’s policy.
Other Laws That May Be Relevant to You
1. Breaks for Lactation
Employers are required to give workers who want to breastfeed their children appropriate pauses.
This break period should, if at all feasible, coincide with the worker’s lunch or relaxation periods. Other lactation pauses are exempt from payment requirements.
2. Drug & Alcohol Testing
Under certain conditions, employers may mandate pre-employment alcohol and drug testing for workers. Testing needs to be role-related, aligned with business needs, and applied equitably and consistently. Only after the employee has received a job offer and prior to their initial day of work can it be necessary.
With very few exceptions—such as in extremely safety-sensitive roles—random alcohol and drug testing in the office is normally forbidden.
In most cases, employers can demand testing if they have a good basis to believe an employee may have consumed drugs or alcohol, such as following a serious accident. There should be concrete evidence to support this suspicion.
3. “Ban the Box” Legislation
Before issuing a job offer, employers employing five or more workers are not allowed to inquire about a candidate’s criminal history. In job ads and other postings, they are not allowed to make claims that applicants with criminal records will not be hired.
Employers need to consider a few details before making a decision based on someone’s criminal record. These elements consist of:
- The specifics of the crime and the circumstances surrounding it.
- The person’s age at the time it happened.
- If and to what extent the behavior caused harm to individuals or property.
- Contributing elements to the offense, like sexual assault, trauma, or drug addiction.
- The job’s responsibilities and whether the circumstances surrounding the offense or the harm that follows are likely to occur at work.
There is a pre-adverse action procedure to follow if a company chooses not to employ someone after taking these reasons into account.
4. Whistleblower Protections
Employees who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to report potential infractions by their employer cannot face discrimination or retaliation from their employers.
This covers situations in which a worker:
- Notifies their direct supervisor of a possible legal infraction.
- Notifies Cal/OSHA of any issues regarding workplace safety.
- Complaints of discrimination to the CRD.
Termination, disciplinary action, demotion, and rejection of professional development possibilities are examples of retaliation. Workers who experience retaliation may file a lawsuit against their company to recover damages.
5. Cal-COBRA regulations
Employees who lose their jobs or have their hours reduced can still maintain their health insurance under the federal COBRA law.
Anyone whose employment ends or hours are cut can maintain their health insurance according to federal COBRA law. Employees not eligible for federal COBRA are given Cal-COBRA, through which their health insurance with the employer can continue for up to 36 months. If the employee lives in California, the state law may extend the coverage from the 18 months that the federal law allows for 36 months.
6. Social Media profiles
Employers are not allowed to request social media names or passwords from workers or job seekers. An employee’s refusal to divulge these facts cannot result in retaliation from their employer.
7. Contraceptive Equality
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against workers or job candidates based on their disclosure of information pertaining to reproductive wellness decision-making.
8. Requirements for Driver’s License
Employers may only demand driver’s licenses as a condition of employment starting 1st January 2025, if driving is a necessary part of the job and there are no other transportation options.
9. Protection of Freelance Workers Act
Starting on 1st January 2025, companies that use independent contractors to do $250 or more in services have to have written agreements in place and pay contractors as agreed upon, or within 30 days of the contractor finishing the job.
10. Laws and Regulations Associated with COVID-19
Employers’ responsibilities with COVID-19 in the workplace were updated by the latest Cal/OSHA Covid-19 Preventive Non-Emergency rules, which went into force on 3rd Feb 2023. Among other things, employers need to:
- In the Injury & Illness Prevention Program, discuss COVID-19.
- Employees ought to mask their faces when the California Department of Public Health requests it.
- During a disease outbreak, provide staff with free testing.
- Notify Cal/OSHA of any significant outbreaks.
- Notify all staff members in writing of any possible COVID-19 exposure, or display a notice at the workplace for a period of 15 days.
- Notify workers who are unable to report to work because of COVID-19 of whatever benefits they might be eligible for under the contract of employment, employer policy, or local, state, or federal legislation.
Employers may also deal with laws and regulations set by cities and national authorities and these laws are not always in agreement. So, it is necessary to remember to consult your responsibilities or rights as a worker or employer with the legal team or an attorney who specializes in California labor laws.