4 workplace laws to watch in 2026

I will be unable to present the previously announced Law at Work update on Tuesday due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict. Here are four topics I intended to cover, two of which earlier columns have addressed more deeply. 

Review employee compensation

On Jan. 1, California’s hourly minimum wage will increase from $16.50 to $16.90. The hourly rate for work within San Diego city limits will increase from $17.25 to $17.75. 

Those employees, such as high-level administrative workers and designated professionals, exempt from the minimum wage and associated regulations must be paid an annual salary of at least $70,304, which is twice the state (not local) annual minimum wage compensation for full-time work. 

Employers must post the statewide minimum wage order where employees can access it, as well as the specific wage order applicable to the employer’s industry.

Scrutinize stay-or-pay contracts

Contracts requiring employees to repay an employer’s payment for training if the employee leaves before completing a set period of employment will be strictly limited in the new year. Subject to limited exceptions, such agreements will be considered an unlawful restraint on labor mobility, akin to non-compete agreements.

There are a handful of exceptions to the new prohibition. The exceptions include agreements to repay employers for tuition payments made for a “transferable credential,” as defined, and agreements requiring repayment of discretionary or unearned monetary payment at the outset of employment, such as a signing bonus, “not tied to specific job performance.”  These exceptions only apply if the employer meets itemized conditions, so such agreements should be reviewed by counsel.    

Distribute employee rights notice

Beginning Feb. 1 and annually thereafter, employers will have to provide written notice to their employees and to new employees when hired, describing, among other rights, the employees’ workers’ compensation rights, right to notice of inspection of the worksite or work records by immigration authorities, and right to engage in concerted activity to improve wages, hours, and working conditions. 

This new Workplace Know Your Rights Act requires the California labor commissioner to post a template notice on its website by Jan. 1 in several languages. Employers should use that template, customizing it if necessary.  

An employer could be fined up to $500 per employee, per violation, meaning even small employers could face thousands of dollars in fines for non-compliance. 

Add training records to personnel files

Labor Code section 1198.5 requires employers to allow an employee or their representative to inspect personnel records an employer maintains about an employee’s performance or any grievance concerning the employee.

Starting Jan. 1, SB 513 will expand section 1198.5 to require those employers that choose to maintain employee training and education records to include them in employee personnel files:

• The name of the employee.
• The name of the training provider.
• The duration and date of the training.
• The core competencies of a training, including skills in equipment or software.
• The resulting certification or qualification.

According to a legislative analyst, the new law is designed to give workers in the fossil fuel industry displaced by the state’s move to a carbon-neutral economy the information they need to verify their experience as they reenter the workforce. The author of the measure, María Elena Durazo of Los Angeles, quoted in a legislative analysis of the measure, explained that “With SB 513, employees across sectors will be able to demonstrate their ability and confirm their eligibility to future employers as job sectors transition to meet state climate goals.”

The record-keeping requirement of the measure extends far beyond its specific rationale. This law does not require employers to keep training and education records, but those employers that do maintain such records of any kind should update their personnel file practices accordingly.

Happy holidays!

Eaton is a partner with the San Diego law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek where his practice focuses on defending and advising employers. He also is an instructor at the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business where he teaches classes in business ethics and employment law. He may be reached at eaton@scmv.com.