Labor & Employment

Appropriates $584 million from the General Fund to address unfunded state employee pension liabilities. Expands disability benefits to include state officers in career executive assignments starting October 2025. Strengthens workers' compensation fraud prevention through enhanced investigation and prosecution funding. Requires Golden Gate Bridge seismic retrofit work to follow existing lead safety standards through 2025.

Permanently exempts safety workers at petroleum facilities from mandatory rest period requirements. Expands the rest period exemption to include workers at alternative fuel refineries. Requires employers to pay one hour of regular wages when rest periods cannot be provided. Applies only to union workers earning at least 30% above minimum wage.

Limits retention payments on private construction contracts to 5% of payment value starting January 2026. Exempts residential projects under four stories and non-mixed-use buildings from retention payment limits. Requires courts to award attorney fees to prevailing parties in retention payment disputes. Allows higher retention if subcontractors fail to provide required performance and payment bonds.

Prohibits employers from using surveillance tools in employee-only areas like breakrooms and bathrooms. Allows workers to leave surveillance devices behind during off-duty hours and meal breaks. Imposes a $500 civil penalty per employee for each violation of workplace surveillance rules. Exempts employers developing national security, military, space, or defense products from these requirements.

Establishes a $7.25 hourly wage for incarcerated firefighters during active fire incidents. Requires annual updates to the firefighter wage rate to account for inflation. Doubles the sentence reduction credits for inmates serving as firefighters or in conservation camps. Extends wage requirements to youth placed at Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp during fire incidents.

Prohibits employers from requiring workers to repay training costs or fees if they leave their job after January 2026. Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate complaints and issue penalties up to $5,000 per violation. Voids any employment contract terms that impose financial penalties on workers who terminate employment. Exempts approved apprenticeship programs and certain educational credentials from these restrictions.

Expands workers' compensation fraud detection by requiring insurers to notify state agencies of suspected premium fraud. Grants insurers access to detailed payroll records from the Employment Development Department for fraud investigations. Requires insurers to reimburse the state quarterly for the costs of accessing payroll information. Mandates that all shared payroll information remain confidential and be used only for fraud investigations.

Establishes new timelines and procedures for investigating employee wage complaints through the Labor Commissioner. Creates a Wage Recovery Fund funded by a 30% administrative fee on wage violation judgments. Requires employers to post bond equal to disputed amount when appealing wage violation decisions. Grants courts broader jurisdiction over wage disputes and related claims not initially presented.

Expands workers' compensation payment disputes to include contract disputes over medical fee discounts. Requires independent reviewers to provide written explanations when upholding payment reductions. Mandates employers reimburse providers for review fees if additional payments are found owing. Sets strict 30-day deadlines for requesting independent bill reviews of payment disputes.

Establishes collective bargaining rights for rideshare drivers to negotiate wages and working conditions with companies. Requires rideshare companies to share driver data quarterly with state labor board starting January 2026. Creates a process for driver organizations to become certified bargaining representatives through elections. Prohibits companies from interfering with driver organizing and mandates good-faith negotiations with certified groups.

Expands workers' compensation coverage for hospital employees to include infectious diseases and cancer. Creates automatic eligibility for healthcare workers who develop PTSD, respiratory, or musculoskeletal injuries. Extends benefits coverage for up to 10 years after employment ends for certain conditions. Establishes that injuries are presumed work-related unless employers prove otherwise.

Requires public posting of employers who fail to pay wage-related judgments on the state labor agency website. Imposes penalties up to triple the judgment amount if employers fail to pay wages within 180 days. Mandates employers post a bond equal to the disputed amount when appealing wage violation decisions. Awards attorney fees to workers who prevail in wage collection cases against employers.

Expands wage discrimination protections by prohibiting pay disparities based on any sex, not just opposite sex. Requires employers to include pay scales in job postings and maintain wage records for employment plus three years. Extends the deadline for wage discrimination lawsuits to three years with a 10-year lookback period. Imposes penalties up to $10,000 per violation for employers who fail to comply with pay transparency rules.

Expands job protection laws to cover workers laid off due to any declared state of emergency through 2027. Requires employers to offer new positions to laid-off workers within five business days of creating the position. Mandates employers to prioritize rehiring based on length of service when multiple laid-off workers qualify. Establishes penalties up to $600 per employee per day for employers who violate these requirements.

Requires written disclosure of financial interests when submitting workers' compensation payment claims. Prohibits medical referrals to entities where the referring party has a financial stake. Imposes penalties up to $15,000 per violation and criminal misdemeanor charges for violations. Voids any compensation claims that violate the new referral and disclosure requirements.

Requires contractors to provide payroll records to public agencies within 10 days of request. Authorizes agencies to withhold payments from contractors who fail to provide requested payroll records. Mandates protection of worker privacy by redacting personal information in public record requests. Establishes a $100 daily penalty per worker for contractors who fail to comply with record requests.

Requires public employers to continue misconduct investigations even after an employee retires. Mandates referral to law enforcement if investigations reveal potential criminal activity. Enforces forfeiture of retirement benefits if the employee is convicted of a work-related felony.

Requires employers to provide up to 5 unpaid days off for immigration-related appointments and proceedings. Mandates reinstatement of employees terminated for work authorization issues if documentation provided within 12 months. Prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on immigration status or deportation proceedings. Applies to public and private employers with more than 25 employees.

Establishes a pilot apprenticeship program for people with disabilities to work as environmental technicians in state prisons. Requires six state agencies to jointly develop and launch the program by July 1, 2026. Addresses workforce barriers faced by Californians with disabilities who face 7.2% unemployment.

Expands wage theft enforcement by denying business licenses to employers who fail to pay court-ordered wages. Requires the Labor Commissioner to notify licensing agencies when employers violate wage payment laws. Allows exemptions for hospitals if license denial would threaten public health and safety. Broadens enforcement from long-term care facilities to all state-licensed businesses.

Requires CAL-FIRE firefighter salaries to be within 15% of average pay at 20 comparable fire departments. Mandates annual salary surveys to determine competitive pay rates for firefighter positions. Requires implementation of any salary increases through collective bargaining agreements. Orders a special survey of fire chief compensation from five major departments by January 2027.

Requires employers to annually report workplace surveillance tools to the Department of Industrial Relations. Mandates disclosure of what personal information is collected and whether workers can opt out of data collection. Requires the Department to publish surveillance tool reports on its website within 30 days. Exempts basic IT tools like spam filters and antivirus software from reporting requirements.

Establishes an emergency workforce program to rebuild areas affected by the 2025 Los Angeles and Ventura wildfires. Provides job training and stipends to low-income workers impacted by the fires. Creates job centers near fire zones to support affected workers and businesses. Expedites licensing for participants in construction, firefighting, and healthcare jobs.

Authorizes the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency to offer existing pension plans to qualified employees. Allows employees to keep their current retirement benefits when joining the flood agency within 180 days. Requires retirement system approval before joint powers authorities can add new member agencies. Maintains pension reform requirements for all new employees hired after January 1, 2013.

Establishes automatic workers' compensation coverage for farmworkers who suffer heat-related injuries when employers violate safety rules. Creates a new $5 million fund to support heat injury claims administration and prevention for agricultural workers. Requires employers to provide heat illness prevention plans, shade, water, and rest periods for outdoor farmworkers. Mandates that compensation include full medical treatment, disability benefits, and death benefits for heat-related incidents.