Since late June 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law more than twenty employment-related bills that will affect employer operations in California, covering topics such as workplace artificial intelligence and surveillance, discrimination protections, leave expansions, agricultural labor standards, and immigration-related retaliation. Below is an overview of some of the new laws.

Quick Hits

• Governor Newsom signed the substantial majority of employment-related bills passed in the 2025-2026 California legislative session, touching on artificial intelligence and workplace surveillance, pay equity enforcement, leave expansions, agricultural labor standards, workplace violence prevention, and immigration-related retaliation.
• The governor vetoed AB 1940, which would have added menopause and related conditions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s (FEHA) definition of sex.
• Most of the new laws take effect January 1, 2027, though several carry different operative dates.

California Employment Bills Signed Into Law

What This Means for Employers

With most of these laws taking effect January 1, 2027, California employers may want to begin updating handbooks, harassment prevention and other mandatory training materials, surveillance and monitoring policies, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice procedures, and immigration-related nondiscrimination practices ahead of the new year. Employers using automated decision systems or AI-driven workplace...

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