Governor Newsom has signed a number of bills that go into effect in the new year and that protect worker and union rights. South Bay Senator Wahab and Assemblymembers Kalra, Lee,
and Berman have authored significant workers’ rights legislation.
RIGHT OF RIDESHARE DRIVERS TO UNIONIZE
AB 1340 (Berman); (Wicks) grants rideshare drivers the right to organize, bargain collectively,
and unionize for mutual aid or protection irrespective of their status as independent contractors. The law does not apply to food delivery drivers.
BAN ON STAY OR PAY CLAUSES
AB 692 (Kalra) bars contracts entered into on or after January 2026 that require a worker to repay a debt such as training costs if employment is terminated. Violations may trigger civil
penalties and allow workers to bring legal actions.
RIGHT TO RECALL
AB 858 (Lee) extends the COVID-19 “right of recall” protections for airport service, hospitality providers, building service providers, and hotel, private club and event center employees from December 31, 2025 to January 1, 2027 due to any state or locally declared emergency.
INCREASED PENALTIES FOR UNPAID WAGE THEFT JUDGMENTS
SB 261 (Wahab) authorizes civil penalties of up to 3 times the unpaid amount for judgments arising from nonpayment of wage theft judgments left unsatisfied after 180 days. This bill originated from and was sponsored by Santa Clara County.
ANNUAL NOTICE TO WORKERS OF RIGHTS
SB 294 (Gomez Reyes) requires employers to provide each employee with a stand-alone written notice summarizing key workplace rights by February 1, 2026. The notices must disclose (1) the right to workers’ compensation benefits; (2) the right to be notified of immigration-agency inspections; (3) protections against “unfair immigration-related” practices; (4) the right to organize or engage in concerted activity and unionize; (5) constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement at the workplace; (6) information on new legal developments the Labor Commission prioritizes; and (7) a list of relevant enforcement agencies.
SALARY RANGE POSTING AND EXPANSION OF EQUAL PAY ACT
AB 642 (Limon), the Pay Equity Enforcement Act, requires employers with 15 or more employees to include a “good faith estimate” of the salary or wage range in every job posting. The law also updates the Equal Pay Act to extend equal pay protection to employees who are
non-binary or have other gender identities or expressions. It defines sex as gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and lactation. It also extends the time to bring a claim to 3
years from the date of violation and allows recovery of up to 6 years of back pay.
TIP THEFT:
SB 648 (Smallwood-Cuevas) grants the Labor Commissioner the authority to issue citations and assess penalties against employers that illegally take or withhold employee tips.
OWNING A TRUCK DOES NOT MAKE A DRIVER AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
SB 809 (Durazo; Kalra) clarifies that owning a truck does not make a driver an independent
contractor.
WINDOW TO REACTIVATE SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIMS
AB 250 (Aguiar-Curry) establishes a 2 year window from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 to revive civil claims for damages suffered as a result of sexual assault, even if the statute of limitations has expired.
STATE LABOR BOARD CAN ENFORCE FEDERAL LAWS WHEN THE NLRB CAN’T AB 288 (McKinnor) empowers the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to oversee and certify unions elections and decide unfair labor practices (ULP) charges in the
private sector if the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unable to or declines to carry out its duties.
PAID FAMILY LEAVE (PFL) TO COVER CARE FOR DESIGNATED PERSON
SB590 (Durazo) expands eligibility for benefits under the state’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program to include individuals who take time off work to care for seriously ill designated persons. The law defines “designated person” to mean “any care recipient related by blood or
whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.”
REIMBURSEMENT OF WORK EXPENSES FOR TRUCK USE
SB 809 (Durazo; Kalra) requires an employer to reimburse an employee for the use, upkeep, and depreciation of a truck, tractor, trailer, or other commercial vehicle the employee owns and uses for work.
Ruth Silver Taube is the Supervising Attorney of the Workers’ Rights Practice at the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center at Santa Clara University School of Law, Coordinator of the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, Legal Services Provider Co-Chair of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, a delegate to the Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Commission, and the Supervising Attorney of the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Legal Advice Line. Before law school, she was a journeyman machinist, President of International Association of Machinists Local 547, and Senior Field Representative for SEIU Local 535. She previously taught at Njala University in Sierra Leone with CUSO, the Canadian Peace Corps.
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