Labor & Employment Law Blog

California Senate Bill 513—recently signed into law and effective January 1, 2026—significantly expands employer recordkeeping obligations related to education and training. The law amends Labor Code §1198.5 to require employers who maintain education or training records to include the following details in such records in each employee’s personnel file:

• Employee’s name
• Training provider name
• Duration and date of the training
• Core competencies covered, including any equipment or software skills
• The resulting certification or qualification

In a recent decision, a California appellate court provided important guidance for employers calculating paid sick leave for outside sales employees.

California’s Director of Finance has certified that the Golden State’s minimum wage will increase to $16.90 per hour effective January 1, 2026, in accordance with applicable Labor Code requirements.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) recently rolled out its latest guidance and model notice for employees who are victims of violence or abuse and wish to take time off under law that was amended effective January 1, 2025. The guidance, which the CRD released earlier this month, is designed to ensure that employees understand the rights they are entitled to under AB 2499 that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law last year.

California employers are encouraged to review their cellular phone and driving policies in light of a recent Court of Appeal decision which bars drivers from using any functions on a handheld cellular phone while driving. People v. Porter, 111 Cal. App. 5th 927, 333 Cal. Rptr. 3d 168, 171 (2025).

On July 1, 2025, multiple California cities and counties will implement mid‑year minimum wage increases. These adjustments generally reflect shifts in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and are designed to help employees keep pace with inflation.  Below is a non-exhaustive list of the jurisdictions that will raise their minimum wage:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued an updated version of Form I-9 in order to align with statutory language. The updated Form I-9 has an edition date of 01/20/25 and an expiration date of 05/31/2027. It is available here and in the “Forms and Document Downloads” section of the “I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification” webpage.

Controversy surrounding “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programs is neither new nor surprising. But since the beginning of 2025, increased challenges and scrutiny of the term DEI itself has called into question the state of its future existence.

On April 21, 2025, the California Court of Appeal issued a new, published opinion in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. in which the court concluded that revocable, prospective, “blanket” meal period waivers are enforceable in the absence of any evidence that the waivers are unconscionable or unduly coercive to the employee.

On April 8, 2025, the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal published a decision denying an employer’s motion to compel arbitration.  The question before the Court of Appeal was whether the parties’ arbitration agreement required arbitration of the employee’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims.  The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the agreement contained a PAGA carveout such that the employer could not compel the employee’s individual PAGA claims to arbitration.