Labor & Employment

Prohibits employers from preventing employees from wearing face coverings or respirators unless they create safety hazards. Defines acceptable face coverings as two-layered masks that fully cover the nose and mouth with no visible holes. Excludes single-layer items like scarves, bandanas, and balaclavas from qualifying as face coverings. Allows local health departments to enforce more protective face covering requirements.

Establishes a new multiregional bargaining system for court interpreter employment terms across California. Requires courts to accept multiregional bargaining requests within 30 days if more than one region is negotiating. Maintains uniform pay rates within regions while allowing local courts to set additional compensation. Preserves existing health and pension benefits that match other court employees' benefits.

Limits retention payments on private construction projects to 5% of contract value starting January 2026. Requires courts to award attorney fees to prevailing parties in retention payment disputes. Exempts residential projects under four stories from the retention payment restrictions. Waives retention limits when subcontractors fail to provide required performance bonds.

Authorizes employers to distribute required workplace information by mail in addition to email and physical postings. Maintains the requirement for employers to physically display all mandatory workplace notices. Provides additional flexibility for communicating with employees who prefer or need physical documents.

Expands workers' compensation coverage to include firefighters at commercial airports for job-related injuries. Establishes automatic injury presumptions for cancer, PTSD, and infectious diseases in firefighters and officers. Requires full medical, hospital, disability and death benefits for qualifying conditions. Extends coverage for up to 60 months after service ends based on years worked.

Authorizes county boards of supervisors to set their own wage rates for prisoner work assignments in county jails, removing the current $2 per 8-hour limit. Grants counties flexibility to determine fair compensation for incarcerated workers based on local conditions and needs. Requires implementation through board approval and oversight of county sheriffs who manage jail operations.

Creates a fast-track licensing process for federal attorneys to practice law in California without taking the bar exam. Allows experienced out-of-state attorneys to bypass the California bar exam after four years of good standing. Protects attorneys from discipline for actions legal in California but prohibited in other states. Requires the State Bar to develop expedited licensing procedures by January 2026.

Makes technical changes to require posting of workplace safety division's annual report online.

Requires labor contractors to include email addresses in written service agreements for enhanced communication. Mandates retention of labor contracts for four years after termination for compliance review. Protects contract documents from public disclosure while maintaining Labor Commissioner access.

Extends insurance premium reimbursement for state employees on military duty from 365 to 730 calendar days. Authorizes the Governor to extend military duty benefits for state employees by up to 1,460 additional days. Establishes new court procedures for appealing Public Employment Relations Board decisions for transit workers. Repeals outdated benefits related to the 1995 Bosnia crisis for state employees.

Expands unemployment insurance communications to include electronic transmissions alongside traditional mail. Defines electronic postmark date as the date when a document was electronically transmitted. Modernizes state unemployment processes to improve efficiency and accessibility.

Grants the Teachers' Retirement Board final authority to determine employer status and system membership. Establishes new penalties of $200 per month for employers who fail to report retired employee information. Revises how retirement benefits are calculated when employees work in multiple public retirement systems. Requires employers to notify employees within 10 days of reaching post-retirement work limits.

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.

Establishes a statewide medical provider network to address workplace injury treatment shortages in San Joaquin Valley. Requires injured workers to seek treatment in employer networks before accessing the statewide network. Allows workers to use the statewide network if employer network cannot provide treatment within 30 days. Mandates implementation of the new medical provider network by January 1, 2027.

Increases minimum civil penalties for unlicensed contractor violations from $200 to $1,500 starting July 2026. Authorizes the Contractors State License Board to adjust penalty amounts for inflation every five years. Requires public entities to receive notice within 72 hours if they plan to hire unlicensed contractors.

Requires California prisons to install cooling systems and temperature monitors to protect inmates from extreme weather by 2026. Mandates annual staff training on preventing and managing heat-related illnesses in correctional facilities. Establishes emergency evacuation plans and protocols for extreme weather events in all state prisons. Creates a working group to oversee implementation and requires annual progress reports to state officials.

Excludes sheepherders and goat herders from agricultural worker overtime protections. Modifies existing labor laws to create separate classification for herding occupations. Affects wage and hour requirements for herding workers previously covered under agricultural rules.

Enhances retirement benefits for public safety employees by lowering retirement age from 57 to 55 starting January 2026. Allows employers and unions to negotiate employer contributions toward employee retirement costs after January 2026. Adjusts pension formulas to provide higher benefits at earlier retirement ages for safety personnel. Aligns pension compensation limits with federal standards while protecting existing retirement benefits.

Requires large healthcare employers to report compensation data for behavioral health and medical staff to the state. Authorizes civil penalties up to $100 per employee for first violations and $200 for subsequent violations. Applies to healthcare plans with over 3.5 million enrollees that operate their own pharmacies. Covers both direct employees and contractors providing behavioral health or medical-surgical services.

Requires trucking companies to verify driver employment status before entering California ports. Mandates ports to publish trucking company information on their websites and report monthly to state regulators. Imposes a $100,000 penalty for providing false information about driver employment status. Requires independent truck drivers to submit operating permits and insurance before port entry.

Undeveloped "intent bill" that aims to create training programs for zero-emission vehicle technicians. Proposes establishing a council to analyze workforce and infrastructure needs for clean energy technologies.

Changes unemployment fraud prevention reporting from annual to every two years starting January 2027. Requires the Employment Development Department to continue annual fraud assessments through 2026. Mandates detailed analysis of fraud prevention tools in each report to legislative committees.

Requires contractors on CSU construction projects to use skilled and trained workers for all building trades work. Mandates contractors to provide enforceable commitments for using qualified workers at all subcontractor levels. Exempts contractors who participate in project labor agreements that ensure skilled workforce requirements. Takes effect for new project labor agreements starting January 1, 2026.

Prohibits public pension systems from investing in California development projects that lack specific labor protections. Requires development projects to pay prevailing wages and use skilled workers for construction work. Mandates developers to ensure labor peace during union organizing campaigns. Allows pension boards to reject these requirements if they conflict with fiduciary duties.

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.