California Employment Law Blog

A California crop lien amendment took effect on January 1, 2026 and removed a rule that limited the lien to farms owned by a limited partnership. Farmworkers who harvest or haul crops on any farm can now hold the harvest itself as security for unpaid wages. The Labor Commissioner used the lien in May 2026…

California employers increasingly use software that scores productivity, flags rule violations, and recommends who should be written up or let go, decisions that can lead to a California wrongful termination claim when they break the law. Senate Bill 947, signed on September 30, 2026, adds a new part to the Labor Code that governs those tools when they…

A California Court of Appeal decision published on October 23, 2026 holds that an employer that wins a discrimination or retaliation case under the Fair Employment and Housing Act cannot collect its court costs from the worker unless the judge first finds the worker’s claims were frivolous. The ruling reversed a $15,397.96 cost award entered…

California’s general minimum wage rises to $17.40 an hour on January 1, 2027. A separate law signed on September 30, 2026, sets a higher floor for part of the state’s farm workforce. Assembly Bill 2646 adds Labor Code § 1208, which sets a California agricultural minimum wage of $19.75 an hour for out-of-state seasonal farmworkers and for…

Last updated September 30, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand California’s statewide minimum wage rises from $16.90 to $17.40 an hour on January 1, 2027, for employers of every size. The Labor Commissioner’s Office confirmed the California minimum wage for 2027 on August 13, 2026, after the Director of Finance ran the annual cost-of-living calculation…

Last updated September 30, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand California law has long penalized employers that knowingly label workers as independent contractors to avoid treating them as employees, with civil penalties of $5,000 to $25,000 per violation under Labor Code § 226.8. Senate Bill 1444, signed on August 27, 2026, changes who can seek…

Last updated August 28, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand California law treats some resignations as firings. Under the constructive discharge doctrine, a worker who quits because the employer made the job intolerable is legally regarded as having been discharged, which the California Supreme Court confirmed in Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1238. A signed…

Last updated August 14, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand California requires employers with 15 or more employees to include a pay scale in every job posting, and it gives every worker the right to request the pay scale for the job they already hold, under Labor Code § 432.3. The same statute bars employers…

Last updated July 28, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand A California law that took effect January 1, 2026 now requires businesses to disclose a data breach within 30 calendar days of discovering it, replacing an older standard that let companies take as long as they reasonably needed. Senate Bill 446 amended the state’s breach-notification…

Last updated June 30, 2026 · Reviewed by Michael Nourmand Medical records hold some of the most sensitive information a person has, and California law treats a breach of that data more seriously than most. When a health care provider, an insurer, or one of their vendors exposes confidential medical information, the state’s Confidentiality of…