New California Laws 2026
relating to public employment. SB 20, Menjivar. Occupational safety: high-expo- sure trigger tasks on artificial stone. This bill ad- dresses, among other things, worker safety in the artificial stone fabrication industry by 1) prohibiting a person or entity engaged in “high-exposure trigger tasks” from using dry methods when engaging in those tasks; 2) requiring an owner or operator of a fabrication shop, or any individual who employs an- other individual to perform high-exposure trigger tasks in a fabrication shop, to ensure that any em- ployee who performs those tasks receives training and to provide to Cal/OSHA a written attestation of that training, as specified; and 3) requiring the State Department of Public Health (CDPH) to conduct out- reach. An act to amend Sections 6302 and 6432 of, and to add Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 6359.1) to Part 1 of Division 5 of, the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health. SB 129, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Labor. This bill makes necessary changes to imple- ment the labor and public employment provision ad- opted as a part of the Budget Act of 2025. An act to amend Section 19878 of, and to add Sec- tion 20825.18 to, the Government Code, to amend Section 1872.83 of the Insurance Code, and to amend Section 62.5 of, to add Section 6717.2 to, and to repeal Section 62.6 of, the Labor Code, relating to labor, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect im- mediately, bill related to the budget. SB 156, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Labor. This bill is a budget trailer bill within the over- all 2025-26 budget package to implement actions re- lated to labor, workforce, and employment. An act to amend Sections 53270 and 7926.300 of, and to add Sections 20508.4 and 20825.19 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 12300.4 and 12301.61 of, and to add Section 12316.9 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to labor, and making an appropriation therefore, to take effect im- mediately, bill related to the budget. SB 230, Laird. Workers’ compensation: firefight- ers. This bill, for injuries occurring on or after Jan- uary 1, 2026, expands rebuttable presumptions that specified diagnoses are occupational and therefore covered by workers’ compensation to active firefight- ing members of a fire department that serve a United States Department of Defense (DOD) installation, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) installation, and provide fire protection to a commercial airport, as specified. An act to amend Sections 3212, 3212.1, 3212.15, 3212.6, 3212.8, 3212.85, and 3212.9 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation. SB 261, Wahab. Division of Labor Standards En- forcement: orders, decisions, and awards. This bill 1) makes an employer liable for a civil penalty of up to three times the outstanding judgment amount if a final judgment from the nonpayment of wages re- mains unsatisfied after a period of 180 days, as spec- ified; 2) prescribes how the penalties assessed are to be distributed and used; and 3) requires a court to award a prevailing plaintiff specified fees and costs
in any action brought by a judgment creditor, the La- bor Commissioner, or a public prosecutor to enforce a final judgment against an employer. An act to amend Section 98.2 of, and to add Sec- tions 238.05 and 238.10 to, the Labor Code, relating to employment. SB 294, Reyes. The Workplace Know Your Rights Act. This bill (1) requires employers to provide a stand-alone written notice annually to each employee informing them of their rights under state and feder- al law, as specified; (2) directs the Labor Commis- sioner (LC) to develop a template notice, as well as videos for employers and employees informing them of their responsibilities and rights, as specified; (3) requires employers, if authorized by an employee, to contact an employee’s designated emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained, as specified; and (4) authorizes various penalties for noncompli- ant employers. An act to add Part 5.6 (commencing with Section 1550) to Division 2 of the Labor Code, relating to em- ployment. SB 400, Cortese. Labor: elective compensation un- der the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This bill 1) authorizes a taxpayer, employer, contractor, or sub- contractor to voluntarily make an elective retroactive wage payment to workers who performed work on a qualified renewable clean energy facility pursuant to the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA); and 2) provides that this payment, by itself, does not constitute a violation of specified labor laws. An act to add and repeal Article 4 (commencing with Section 280) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Labor Code, relating to labor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. SB 447, Umberg. Workers’ compensation: death benefits. This bill increases the age that minor de- pendents are able to continue to receive health bene- fits under the workers’ compensation death benefits coverage when specified firefighters, peace officers, or Orange County Sheriff’s Special Officers die in the line of duty, from 21 years to 26 years of age. An act to amend Section 4856 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation. SB 487, Grayson. Workers’ compensation. This bill specifies that when the injured employee is a peace officer, as defined, or a firefighter who is employed by a city, county, a city and county, or a fire protection district, the employer is entitled to receive no more than one-third of a third-party defendant’s applicable liability insurance policy limits, under specified cir- cumstances. An act to amend Sections 3852, 3858, 3859, 3860, 3861, and 3862 of the Labor Code, relating to work- ers’ compensation. SB 513, Durazo. Personnel records. Expands the scope of personnel records that a current and for- mer employee or their representative has a right to inspect and receive a copy of to include education or training records and requires those records to in- clude specified information about the training. An act to amend Section 1198.5 of the Labor Code, Continued on page 78
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