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.

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.

The courts in Los Angeles are creating controversy over attorneys’ fees awards—a tale in three parts.

In Pollock v. Kelso, 107 Cal. App. 5^th 1190 (2025), Pollock sued for sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The trial court granted summary judgment, and the court of appeal affirmed. The California Supreme court reversed, and on remand, the Court of Appeal awarded appellate costs to Pollock.  Pollock moved for $526,475.63 in attorneys’ fees, and the court awarded $493,577.10.  Defendant appealed.  The summary judgment motion was reversed, and a trial was set.  The parties settled the case except for the appeal on the attorneys’ fees, and filed a stipulation with the court stating, “The court DISMISSES this entire action with prejudice as to all parties and all causes of action.”

In March of 2022, new legislation curtailing the arbitration of sexual harassment and sexual assault claims, titled the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) was passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Biden. The bipartisan motivation behind EFAA was to give survivors of sexual abuse their day in court and eliminate the secretive element of arbitration that often shields these accusations from public scrutiny.  Since then, courts have continued to work out the scope of EFAA. 

In light of the unprecedented wildfires in the Los Angeles area which commenced on January 7, 2025, the DLSE published a Frequently Asked Questions website to provide guidance to California employers on laws enforced by the Labor Commissioner’s office.

Effective October 10, 2024, San Diego County adopted its new Fair Chance Ordinance (“SDFCO”). The SDFCO imposes additional restrictions that covered employers must follow regarding the use of criminal history in employment, on top of what California law already requires. 

The new SDFCO applies to employers that do business in the unincorporated areas of the County of San Diego and have 5 or more employees. Applicants and current employees who are in or are seeking a position involving at least 2 hours of work, including remote work, on average each week in the unincorporated areas of the County, receive protections under the SDFCO. Unlike the California state Fair Chance Act (“FCO”), the SDFCO expressly defines an “applicant” to include those applying for employment but also current employees seeking promotions or transfers.

Back in February, 2024, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers (the “FCO”) was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors. The FCO became operative and subject to enforcement on September 3, 2024 and adds a variety of additional compliance obligations for covered employers and added protections for covered applicants and employees, above and beyond what existing state law requires. Covered employers must ensure that they comply with the stricter of state and local laws governing the use of criminal history in employment.

With the close of the California legislative season, there are a variety of employment law bills which will become law on January 1, 2025. Golden State employers should be aware that several of these new laws necessitate updates to employment policies and handbooks. Specifically:

California health care employers will recall that Governor Newsom signed SB 525 into law in October 2023, setting into motion planned increases to the required minimum wage for certain health care employees who work at covered health care facilities. SB 525 required increases to the health care minimum wage to begin in June 2024, but the law’s start date became a matter of confusion and chaos, with the State first delaying SB 525’s start date to July 1, 2024 based upon budgetary concerns, only to then delay it again until at least October 15, 2024.