California HR Compliance Guide for Employers

• Minimum wage: $16/hr statewide (higher in many cities and for fast food/healthcare)
• Daily overtime after 8 hours — not just weekly 40
• Seventh consecutive day pays double time for first 8 hours
• Mandatory 30-min meal break before the 5th hour of work
• Second meal break required before the 10th hour
• 10-minute rest breaks every 4 hours (or major fraction thereof)
• Premium pay (one additional hour) for each missed, late, or shortened meal or rest break
• Split shift premium required when work shifts are separated by more than a bona fide meal break

• $100 per employee per pay period is the default civil penalty; $200 applies only with a prior unlawful finding or malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive conduct
• PAGA covers virtually every California Labor Code violation
• For notices filed on or after June 19, 2024: 35% of civil penalties go to employees; 65% to the LWDA
• Class action-style reach: one affected employee can sue for all similarly situated workers
• PAGA notices must be filed with the LWDA before suit under the statutory waiting period
• 2024 PAGA reform (AB 2288 / SB 92) added 15% and 30% civil-penalty caps for reasonable steps
• PAGA waivers in arbitration agreements are unenforceable in California

• Gross wages earned
• Total hours worked (non-exempt employees)
• All applicable piece-rate units and rates
• All deductions itemized
• Net wages earned
• Inclusive dates of the pay period
• Employee name and last 4 digits of SSN (or employee ID)
• Employer's full legal name and address
• All hourly rates in effect and hours worked at each rate

• Written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) — distinct from the IIPP
• Procedures to identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards
• Post-incident response and investigation procedures
• Employee training on the WVPP at hire and annually
• Violent incident log — must record all workplace violence incidents
• Employee right to request copies of incident logs
• Annual review of the WVPP

• Harassment prevention: 2 hours for supervisors, 1 hour for non-supervisors — every 2 years (SB 1343)
• Workplace violence prevention training at hire and annually (SB 553)
• Cal/OSHA safety training specific to job hazards
• Bystander intervention training for anti-harassment (recommended, some industries required)
• Cannabis and alcohol training for safety-sensitive roles
• New hire orientation covering California-specific rights and policies

• CFRA (California Family Rights Act): 12 weeks unpaid leave for companies with 5+ employees
• PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave): up to 4 months for pregnancy-related conditions
• CA Paid Family Leave: 8 weeks at 60–70% wage replacement through SDI
• California Paid Sick Leave: minimum 5 days/40 hours annually
• Bereavement leave: 5 days for qualifying family members (AB 1949, employers with 5+)
• Reproductive loss leave: up to 5 days (SB 848)
• Domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking leave (all employer sizes)
• Organ and bone marrow donor leave

• Job postings must include pay scale (hourly rate or salary range) for all positions
• Applies to remote roles that could be filled by California employees
• Pay scale must be provided to current employees upon request
• Annual pay data reporting to the Civil Rights Department (25+ employees or 100+ through labor contractor)
• Report must break down pay by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category
• Median and mean hourly rate must be included for each employee group

• Involuntary termination: final pay due immediately at separation
• Resignation with 72+ hours notice: final pay due on last day
• Resignation without 72+ hours notice: final pay within 72 hours
• All unused, accrued PTO must be paid out at separation (PTO cannot be forfeited)
• Written notice of change in employer required for successor employers
• COBRA notice required within 30 days of coverage loss event
• EDD notice required for layoffs of 100+ employees (WARN Act)

The most frequently cited violations are meal and rest break failures (missed, late, or waived without premium pay), wage statement deficiencies (missing required elements), overtime miscalculation, misclassification of employees as exempt or as independent contractors, and failure to provide required leaves of absence. These are also the most common triggers for PAGA lawsuits.

PAGA penalties compound rapidly. A company with 50 employees paying biweekly, with wage statement violations going back 12 months, faces potential civil-penalty exposure of $100 x 50 employees x 26 pay periods = $130,000 under the AB 2288 default rate. That figure is civil penalties only. Premiums, waiting-time, and wage-statement damages stack separately. Plaintiff attorney fees are typically 30-33% of the negotiated settlement fund, not of the asserted maximum.

California's statewide minimum wage is $16/hour (2024) for most employers. However, many cities have higher local minimums (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pasadena, etc.), and sector-specific rates apply in fast food ($20/hour) and healthcare. Employers must track applicable rates by location and industry.

Yes. SB 553 applies to virtually all California employers regardless of size, with limited exceptions for fully remote workers with no work location outside the home and some healthcare settings covered under separate OSHA standards. The written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) was required by July 1, 2024.

No, but California's AB 5 sets an extremely strict 'ABC test' for classifying workers as independent contractors. Most workers default to employee status unless the company can show: (A) the worker is free from control, (B) the work is outside the company's usual business, and (C) the worker has an independent business. Misclassification exposes employers to back taxes, penalties, and PAGA liability.