Labor & Employment

Existing law establishes a minimum wage for all industries and imposes criminal penalties for violation of these wage provisions. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to collect due and unpaid wages or benefits on behalf of workers. Under existing law, the commissioner acts as trustee and deposits collected wages and benefits into the Industrial Relations Unpaid Wage Fund, which is continuously appropriated for the purpose of remitting the collected wages or benefits. This bill would require the minimum hourly wage for an approved agricultural employee and corresponding employee, as defined, to be $19.75 per hour. Commencing January 1, 2027, and each January thereafter, the bill would require the above-described minimum hourly wage to be adjusted by an amount equal to the cost-of-living adjustment for social security benefits, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By increasing the revenue to the Industrial Relations Unpaid Wage Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, and expanding the purposes for which moneys in that fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law establishes the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in order to meet the public transit problems of the County of Santa Clara. Existing law authorizes the VTA to purchase or otherwise acquire property for transit-oriented joint development projects, as provided. This bill would authorize the VTA to similarly purchase or acquire property for an employee housing project, as defined, for VTA employees and members of the public, as specified. The bill would authorize the VTA to construct affordable rental housing for employees and affordable for-sale housing that promotes housing opportunities for VTA employees, as specified. The bill would require the VTA to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the use of the bill's provisions to develop housing, as specified. By requiring the VTA to submit a new report, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and requires the department to be responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Conservation Camp program for the purpose of having inmates and wards work on projects supervised by the department. Existing law requires the department to utilize inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps in performing fire prevention, fire control, and other work at the department. This bill would require, on and after July 1, 2027, the department to, in partnership with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Conservation Camp program, implement a standardized process to ensure that all eligible individuals who successfully complete training in a department firefighting training camp while incarcerated receive official written certification reflective of the training completed before their release, as specified. This bill would require the department, on and after January 1, 2028, if a qualified formerly incarcerated individual, as defined, applies for a Fire Fighter 1 Classification position, or any successor classifications, and has the required training and meets the minimum qualifications for the position, to award hiring preference under Category Placement 2 to the qualified formerly incarcerated individual, as specified. The bill would require the department, on and after January 1, 2028, if a qualified formerly incarcerated individual applies for a Forestry Technician Classification position, or any successor classifications, to count the duration of specified training and fieldwork as an incarcerated hand crew member towards the minimum qualifications for the classification.

Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation to adopt regulations relating to worker health in areas where pesticides are used so that pesticide residue levels are not a significant factor in cholinesterase depression or other health effects. Existing law requires that an employer who has an employee who regularly handles pesticides have an agreement with a medical supervisor who is registered with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) . Existing law requires that a laboratory that performs tests ordered by a medical supervisor report specified information to the Department of Pesticide Regulation on, at a minimum, a monthly basis. Existing law requires that the reports be submitted via electronic media and formatted in a manner approved by the director. Existing law requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to share information from cholinesterase reports with the OEHHA and the State Department of Public Health on an ongoing basis, in an electronic format. Existing law requires the registered medical supervisor ordering a cholinesterase test to note in the test order the name of the medical supervisor and the purpose of the test, and ensure that the person tested and the employer receive a copy of the cholinesterase test results and any recommendations from the medical supervisor based upon those results within 14 days of the medical supervisor's receipt of the results. Existing law requires the medical supervisor to report any worker with cholinesterase depression indicating pesticide exposure to the local health officer within 24 hours. These provisions are operative until January 1, 2027. This bill would extend these provisions until January 1, 2030.

This measure would recognize open water lifeguards as first responders, in acknowledgment of their essential role in emergency response, public safety, and drowning prevention, as provided.

Existing law requires a claimant for unemployment compensation disability benefits to establish medical eligibility for each uninterrupted period of disability by filing a first claim for disability benefits supported by a certificate of a treating physician or practitioner that establishes the sickness, injury, or pregnancy of the employee, or the condition of the family member that warrants the care of the employee. For subsequent periods of uninterrupted disability after the period covered by the initial certificate or any preceding continued claim, existing law requires a claimant to file a continued claim for those benefits supported by the certificate of a treating physician or practitioner. This bill would prohibit a physician or practitioner from charging an administrative fee to complete a form for a certificate. The bill would also prohibit a physician or practitioner from charging an administrative fee to complete a recertification examination or for a form that is required to maintain continued eligibility for disability benefits. The bill would provide that these provisions do not prohibit a physician or practitioner from billing for medical services provided in connection with an examination or collecting an applicable copayment, coinsurance, or deductible, as specified.

This measure would declare the month of March 2026 to be March4Water Month in California and would encourage all residents, businesses, and local leaders to participate in activities and programs that promote water efficiency, support workforce development in the water sector, and prioritize water solutions as essential investments in the state's economic future.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to review federal commercial driver's license disqualification policies and consider reforms that allow greater flexibility for states and appropriate relief for drivers whose livelihoods are affected.

Existing law makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, as defined, to refuse to hire, or to discharge, demote, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of the individual's exercise of the right to bereavement leave or because of the individual's giving information or testimony as to their own or another person's bereavement leave, or to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any of these rights, as specified. This bill would include a designated person identified by the employee, as specified, in the definition of "family member" and authorize an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for purposes of these provisions relating to bereavement leave.

Existing law provides that if a city council member is absent without permission from all regular city council meetings for a specified number of days from the last regular meeting they attended, their office becomes vacant and shall be filled as any other vacancy. This bill would require a city to establish a process for a city council member to notify the city clerk or other designated official in writing that they are taking parental leave, as defined, for 12 workweeks or longer if the city council member's city provides a parental leave period longer than 12 workweeks for their employees. The bill would exclude parental leave from counting toward the number of allowed absences allotted to each council member. The bill would prohibit the process from requiring a council member to make the declaration at a public hearing. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.