when an alleged unlawful compensation decision or practice is adopted; an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or an individual is affected by the application of the decision or practice. AB 692 – Contracts in Restraint of Trade AB 692 prohibits employment contracts from requiring workers to pay debts, fees or penalties if their employment ends, or allowing debt collection to resume upon termination. Such contract terms are void as against public policy because they restrict lawful employment. Limited exceptions exist for separately offered contracts to repay tuition for transferable credentials and employees must be informed of their right to consult an attorney and given at least five business days to do so before signing. The statute allows employees or their representatives to bring private lawsuits for violations, with penalties including actual damages or $5,000 per worker, plus injunctive relief and attorney’s fees. AB 288 – Labor Organization (Litigation Pending) AB 288 amends the Labor Code to expand the jurisdiction of California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), a state agency with the authority to enforce federal labor laws in the absence of action by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), and allows PERB to resolve private sector issues of federal labor law and grant appropriate relief if the NLRB has expressly or impliedly ceded jurisdiction. In addition to allowing PERB to order any appropriate remedy, including injunctive relief and penalties to resolve unfair labor practice charges, AB 288 grants PERB the authority to assess civil penalties in the amount of $1,000 per worker per violation to employers it finds have engaged in a pattern or practice of committing unfair labor practices. The legality of AB 288 was immediately challenged by the NLRB, which filed a lawsuit against the State of California and PERB seeking to block enforcement of the new statute. The NLRB contends that AB 288 is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and that it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
SB 261 – DLSE: Orders, Decisions and Awards SB 261 requires the Labor Commissioner to post a copy of any order, decision or award on its website no later than 15 days from when the deadline to appeal the decision expired, and no appeal is pending. SB 261 also requires the Labor Commissioner to post the information of employers with unsatisfied judgments when the time to appeal has expired and no appeal is pending, with provisions for the removal of such information and advance notice to such an employer. Additionally, SB 261 creates a new civil penalty of three times the outstanding judgment when an employer has a final judgment for nonpayment of wages that has remained unsatisfied for 180 days after the time to appeal has expired and that has no appeal pending. SB 642 – Payment of Wages SB 642 updates the state’s Equal Pay Act (the Act). Changes include redefining the terms “pay scale,” “sex,” “wages” and “wage rates,” extending the statute of limitations for commencing a civil action to recover wages, and providing guidance on what constitutes a violation under the Act. The Act currently defines “pay scale” as the salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position. SB 642’s revised definition makes clear the term means, “a good faith estimate of the expected wage range that an employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire.” SB 642 also clarifies that employers are prohibited from paying employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of “another sex” instead of the “opposite sex.” The statute also clarifies—for purposes of the Act only—that “wages” and “wage rates” include all forms of pay, including, but not limited to, salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses and benefits. SB 642 also extends the limitations period to bring a civil action to recover wages to no later than three years after the last date the cause of action occurs and allows an employee to obtain relief for the entire period of time in which a violation exists, limited to six years. Further revisions make clear that a cause of action occurs
7 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com January – March 2026
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online