Labor & Employment

Expands workers' compensation coverage to include firefighters at commercial airports for job-related injuries. Establishes automatic injury presumptions for cancer, PTSD, and infectious diseases in firefighters and officers. Requires full medical, hospital, disability and death benefits for qualifying conditions. Extends coverage for up to 60 months after service ends based on years worked.

Authorizes county boards of supervisors to set their own wage rates for prisoner work assignments in county jails, removing the current $2 per 8-hour limit. Grants counties flexibility to determine fair compensation for incarcerated workers based on local conditions and needs. Requires implementation through board approval and oversight of county sheriffs who manage jail operations.

Establishes a new pathway for federal attorneys to obtain California law licenses without taking the bar exam. Requires the State Bar to develop expedited licensing rules by January 1, 2026 for qualifying federal attorneys. Mandates federal attorneys have 5 years of experience and no disciplinary record to qualify. Takes effect immediately to help fill critical vacancies in public defender offices statewide.

Requires labor contractors to include email addresses in written service agreements for enhanced communication. Mandates retention of labor contracts for four years after termination for compliance review. Protects contract documents from public disclosure while maintaining Labor Commissioner access.

Makes technical changes to require posting of workplace safety division's annual report online.

Expands unemployment insurance communications to include electronic transmissions alongside traditional mail. Defines electronic postmark date as the date when a document was sent. Modernizes state unemployment systems by allowing digital document submissions.

Extends insurance premium reimbursement for state employees on military duty from 365 to 730 calendar days. Authorizes the Governor to extend military duty benefits for state employees by up to 1,460 additional days. Establishes new court procedures for appealing Public Employment Relations Board decisions for transit workers. Repeals outdated benefits related to the 1995 Bosnia crisis for state employees.

Grants the Teachers' Retirement Board final authority to determine employer status and membership eligibility. Modifies fund transfer dates to the next business day when scheduled dates fall on weekends or holidays. Establishes a $200 monthly fee for employers who fail to report retired employee information. Revises how reduced workload agreements are terminated based on earnings rather than hours worked.

Prohibits public pension systems from investing in California development projects that lack specific labor protections. Requires development projects to pay prevailing wages and use skilled workers for construction work. Mandates developers to ensure labor peace during union organizing campaigns. Allows pension boards to reject these requirements if they conflict with fiduciary duties.

Expands employee rights to refuse dangerous work tasks while maintaining full pay during safety disputes. Requires employers to address safety concerns before workers must resume questioned tasks. Prohibits any retaliation against workers who refuse hazardous assignments in good faith. Grants employees the right to sue for wages if laid off or discharged for refusing unsafe work.

Renames the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund to focus on supporting second-chance employment opportunities. Establishes new criteria for determining permanent disability compensation based on medical evidence. Creates a database of qualified medical evaluators to assess claims for subsequent workplace injuries. Ensures workers can receive compensation regardless of citizenship or immigration status.

Expands meal period exceptions to include water corporation employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. Requires 30-minute meal breaks after 5 hours of work unless covered by specific industry exemptions. Allows meal breaks to be waived if total work period is 6 hours or less with mutual consent.

Excludes sheepherders and goat herders from agricultural worker overtime protections. Modifies existing labor laws to create separate classification for herding occupations. Affects wage and hour requirements for herding workers previously covered under agricultural rules.

Requires contractors on CSU construction projects to use skilled and trained workers for all building trades work. Mandates contractors to provide enforceable commitments for using qualified workers at all subcontractor levels. Exempts contractors who participate in project labor agreements that ensure skilled workforce requirements. Takes effect for new project labor agreements starting January 1, 2026.

Requires workers' compensation parties to disclose financial interests to third-party payers when billing for referral services. Prohibits referrals to entities where the referring party has a financial stake, with penalties up to $15,000 per violation. Voids any workers' compensation determinations that result from prohibited referral arrangements.

Requires trucking companies to verify driver employment status before entering California ports. Mandates ports to publish trucking company employment data on their websites. Imposes a $60,000 penalty on ports for each non-compliant trucking company entry. Establishes $100,000 fines for providing false information about driver employment status.

Changes unemployment fraud prevention reporting from annual to every two years starting January 2027. Requires the Employment Development Department to continue annual fraud assessments through 2026. Mandates detailed analysis of fraud prevention tools in each report to legislative committees.

Establishes a statewide medical provider network to address workplace injury treatment shortages in San Joaquin Valley. Requires injured workers to seek treatment in employer networks before accessing the statewide network. Allows workers to use the statewide network if employer network cannot provide treatment within 30 days. Mandates implementation of the new medical provider network by January 1, 2027.

Requires private employers to disclose in job postings whether positions are for existing vacancies. Designates job posting violations as unfair competition subject to enforcement by the Privacy Protection Agency. Authorizes the Privacy Protection Agency to issue fines and cease-and-desist orders for violations.

Prohibits employers from using surveillance tools to monitor workers in private areas and during off-duty hours. Requires employers to disable workplace surveillance during breaks and in personal spaces like homes and vehicles. Imposes a $500 civil penalty per employee for each surveillance violation. Protects employees from retaliation for reporting surveillance violations or exercising their privacy rights.

Establishes standardized forms for workers' compensation medical evaluations starting January 1, 2027. Requires medical evaluators to use a new template report form that meets all legal requirements. Creates a quality assessment system to evaluate medical evaluator reports. Prohibits private communications with medical evaluators under penalty of contempt and fines.

Authorizes employers to distribute required workplace information by mail in addition to email and physical postings. Maintains the requirement for employers to physically display all mandatory workplace notices. Provides additional flexibility for communicating with employees who prefer or need physical documents.

Requires elimination of toxic PFAS chemicals from all firefighter protective equipment by January 2027. Mandates manufacturers to certify their firefighting gear is free of PFAS and other harmful flame retardants. Establishes new safety standards for firefighter protective equipment based on scientific research. Requires state safety officials to report on implementation progress by July 2026.

Establishes an amnesty program allowing construction contractors to avoid penalties by reclassifying drivers as employees. Requires contractors to pay back wages and benefits to reclassified drivers through settlement agreements by 2027. Clarifies that vehicle ownership does not automatically make a driver an independent contractor. Mandates reimbursement for drivers using their own vehicles based on negotiated rates or IRS standards.

Makes technical changes to accountant licensing requirements and practice privileges for out-of-state CPAs.