Labor and Employment

California recently passed Senate Bill 617 which requires additional information to be provided in Cal-WARN Act notices issued on or after January 1, 2026.

As a brief background, there are federal and state laws which discuss the issue of notice owed to employees before large layoffs. The Federal law is known as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification or “WARN” Act. California’s version of the WARN act (AB 2957, the “Cal-WARN Act”) contains additional provisions employers must be aware of. Cal-WARN Act notices are required if a “covered” establishment suffers a “mass layoff” or 50 or more employees, a “termination” of substantial operation, or a “relocation” to a different location 100 or more miles away. (Cal. Labor Code §§1400.5(d)-(f).) The notices must be sent to affected employees, the state Employment Development Department (“EDD”), and other local agencies. See our prior articles addressing these requirements in more detail here, as well as the EDD’s summary of the laws here.

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AB 932 proposes several amendments to Government Code section 53080 relating to sex or gender discrimination in community youth athletics programs. This bill was introduced by Assembly Member Jacqui Irwin, and is sponsored by the Davis Storm Girls Basketball Club.

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One of the primary issues employers must navigate is determining how to pay their employees, and that process begins with correctly classifying them. Only a limited number of positions within any company, such as managers, executives, certain administrative personnel and professionals qualify as exempt from overtime and meal and rest period requirements (a common basis for employment lawsuits). Most employers should default to classifying their employees as non-exempt and thus generally pay an hourly wage and ensure compliance with California’s laws regulating overtime, sick pay, and meal and rest periods. 

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In Hirdman v. Charter Communication (8/4/25) 113 Cal.App.5th 376, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was faced with the sole issue of determining the meaning of the phrase “exempt employees” as used in California Labor Code section 246(l)(3).

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State Minimum Wage Increase

On January 1, 2026, California’s state minimum wage will increase by 40 cents per hour, to $16.90 per hour. This adjustment is a 2.49% increase based on federal inflation data (the U.S. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers).  Employers with workers at or near the current minimum wage should plan accordingly, to ensure wages stay above the minimum.  In addition, exempt workers’ salaries must also be adjusted to at least double the state minimum wage.  The minimum salary for workers classified as exempt will rise to $70,304 per year ($5,858.67 per month) on January 1. 

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On July 1, 2025, the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”) issued its new Notice entitled “Survivors Of Violence And Family Members Of Victims Right To Leave And Accommodations.” The new Notice was issued pursuant to Assembly Bill 2499 which was signed into law in late 2024.  Among other things, the legislation expanded leave and accommodation protections for employees who are either the victim of, or have a family member who is the victim of, certain qualifying acts of violence, as defined by the statute.

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California Labor Code section 512 guarantees a thirty (30) minute, off-duty, meal period for employees after five (5) work hours, and a second thirty (30) minute, off duty, meal period after ten (10) work hours. Section 512 also provides that, for shifts between five (5) and six (6) hours, the first meal period “may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee.” (§ 512(a).)  Most Wage Orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) similarly provide for meal periods and their waiver.

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