Dentists in California will have to comply with new and amended employment laws and a new privacy protection law in 2026, including a higher minimum wage, employment contract restrictions and a law that strengthens protections for public and private-sector employees when federal labor agencies do not enforce National Labor Relations Act rights.
One law that expands job-protected employee paid sick leave and safe leave took effect Oct. 1 as an urgency statute. Eight laws will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and one law will take effect in 2028. The laws impact employers of all sizes.
CDA’s analysts compiled and reviewed this list of laws, provided summaries and required “employer actions” and included relevant member-only resources to assist compliance.
State minimum wage, exempt salary increases
A provision in California law allows wages of at least $15 to be raised annually up to 3.5% (rounded to the nearest 10 cents) for any increase in inflation over 7% as measured by the national Consumer Price Index. This adjustment was made the past two years, increasing the minimum wage to $16.50 in 2025, and is happening again now. All California employers of every size will begin paying a minimum wage of $16.90 beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Additionally, because California links the minimum salary for many exempt classifications to the state’s minimum wage, the annual salary threshold for exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees must be at least $70,304 (or $5,858.67/month) beginning Jan. 1.
Employer action:
- Some cities and counties have higher minimum wage requirements. Review local ordinances for increases (CDA resource).
- Update payroll systems for the increases.
- Post the new California Minimum Wage notice (MW-2026) over the old notice.
Expanded Enforcement of National Labor Relations Board Rights
The California Public Employment Relations Board is posed to gain significantly more power to protect public and private-sector employees when federal labor agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board, do not take timely action, or are unable to enforce, National Labor Relations Act rights. The National Labor Relations Act protects both unionized workers and nonunionized workers seeking to strengthen and enforce their rights to organize.
The new California law, AB 288, aims to prevent enforcement delays and enables resolution of labor disputes if the federal agency is inactive or ineffective; however, NLRB is challenging the law in court, arguing in a suit filed last month that SB 288 attempts to regulate areas “explicitly reserved for federal oversight.
CDA will keep members informed of the status of the NLRB’s lawsuit. If the law takes effect, it would allow private sector employees or unions in California to petition the state’s employment relations board to enforce NLRA rights and penalties with some exceptions.
Employer action:
- Review and be more cautious about actions or policies that could be seen as interfering with employees’ rights to organize or bargain collectively.
Expansion of job-protected employee paid sick and safe leave
California last year expanded protections for paid or unpaid employee leave for employees or their family members who are victims of certain crimes or must attend judicial proceedings. Those enforcement responsibilities will shift from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to the Civil Rights Department effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The new law, AB 406, also immediately amended California’s paid sick leave law, revising the list of reasons for which employees may use PSL to align with the revised codes, including leave for wider range of all covered purposes of crime victim’s leave, jury duty, and witness leave. Those changes took effect when the governor signed the bill Oct. 1, 2025.
Employer action:
- A new annual notice was released in May 2025. Watch for the Civil Rights Department’s updated notice “Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims Right to Leave and Accommodations.” CDA will post that version when it’s available.
- Review workplace policies to ensure they are compliant with California paid sick and safe time policies and procedures.
- Create calendar reminders to distribute the annual notice to current employees.
New employment contract restrictions
Under AB 692, all employers and their agents in California will be prohibited from requiring an employee or applicant to pay a debt to the employer, training provider or debt collector if the employee’s employment ends. With limited exceptions, employers also cannot authorize an agent to impose a penalty or fee or to initiate debt collection when the employment relationship ends.
Repayment or cost-sharing terms may potentially be allowed only if they meet strict requirements. For example, contracts to repay the cost of tuition for a transferable credential are permitted if they meet all the requirements listed in Section I, (2B) of the law.
Only agreements entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2026, are covered by the new law. Violators may face civil action and penalties.
Employer action:
- Work with legal counsel to create contracts that will be signed after Jan. 1 and that meet the statutory exceptions of the law for tuition reimbursement and retention bonuses.
Employers face high civil penalties for unsatisfied wage judgments
California employers are subject to civil penalties of up to three times the amount of any outstanding wage judgment that goes unsatisfied for 180 days after the time to file an appeal has lapsed.
The new law, SB 261, introduces triple penalties and mandatory attorneys’ fees and gives the Labor Commissioner’s Office additional ways to enforce and collect wage judgments to ensure worker-victims of wage theft are paid on time. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Employer action:
- Resolve wage claims promptly, set up payment plans and audit wage practices to avoid severe penalties.
Worker rights notice required annually and for new employees
All employers in California must provide a standalone written notice of worker rights to each new hire and annually to all current employees on or before Feb. 1, 2026, under SB 294. The notice describes protections against unfair immigration-related practices and employees’ constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement in the workplace.
The Labor Commissioner has posted a template notice, California Workplace – Know Your Rights, and will publish an updated template notice annually, thereafter. Employers should provide that first notice in the manner they typically use to communicate employment-related information.
Employers also must give employees an opportunity to designate an emergency contact in cases of their arrest or detainment at work. Employees must be given this opportunity no later than March 30, 2026, or on the hire date for employees hired thereafter.
Employer action:
- Draft the required notice ensuring it is written in plain language and complies with SB 294, and update required notices for new hires.
- Check the Labor Commissioner’s website for upcoming educational videos for employers and employees.
- Ensure your HR or employee file system has a field for emergency contact per the employee’s choice and the ability to update it during employment.
- Create calendar reminders to distribute the annual notice to current employees.
30-Day window to provide data breach notifications
Under current law, California businesses are required to provide a notification of a data breach to affected individuals “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.” Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, businesses must notify affected individuals within 30 days of discovery or notification of the data breach.
If the breach involves more than 500 Californians, the employer must notify the attorney general within 15 calendar days of notifying affected individuals.
The new law, SB 446, includes existing exemptions and allows a business to delay the notification to accommodate the legitimate needs of law enforcement “as necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system.”
Employer action:
- Update breach notification procedures and review safety and security protocols to ensure consumer and employee data are properly safeguarded.
Required maintenance of education and training records
The scope of personnel records employers are required to maintain will expand soon under SB 513.
California employers are already required under the labor code to allow current and former employees to inspect and receive a copy of their employment records related to performance.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, education and training records will be considered “personnel records,” meaning employers must also allow employees to inspect records pertaining to any education or training they received. As described in the text of SB 513, the required records must contain (A) The name of the employee, (B) The name of the training provider, (C) The duration and date of the training, (D) The core competencies of the training, including skills in equipment or software, and € The resulting certification or qualification.
Employer action:
- Ensure training records include the required information.
- Audit your employee records to comply with document retention laws and employee requests. Use CDA’s member resource Records and Documents Retention Guidelines.
State-paid family leave will cover leave for designated persons
Starting July 1, 2028, California’s state-paid Paid Family Leave program will be amended under SB 590 to allow eligible employees to claim benefits to care for a seriously ill “designated person.” A designated person is any blood relative or individual who is the equivalent of family, even if the individual is not biologically or legally related to the employee.
The law will bring the definition of eligible care recipients into alignment with that of existing protected leave laws, such as the California Family Rights Act, which includes a designated person provision.
When requesting family temporary disability benefits through the Employment Development Department, employees must identify the designated person and attest under penalty of perjury how that person is related by blood or meets the “equivalent of family” standard.
Employer action:
- No action needed.
Revisions to California’s Equal Pay Act: Updated definitions
SB 642 amends California’s Equal Pay Act with revised definitions of pay scale, sex, wages and wage rates effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Under the current law, all California employers are currently required to provide a position pay scale upon an applicant’s reasonable request. The employer also must provide the pay scale for a position currently held by the employee.
Employers with 15 or more employees must include in any job posting the pay scale for an advertised position. The requirement applies to any third parties the employer uses to announce or advertise the job. The law also requires specific information to be maintained in employee records.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, under the amended law:
- “Pay scale” is redefined to mean “a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire.”
- “Sex” is aligned with other portions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
- “Wages” and “wage rates” are revised to include all forms of pay (Section 2, (I)(3).
The right to obtain relief is limited to a total of six years.
Employer action:
- Update pay scale records to align with the new definitions.
- Audit job postings for compliance if you have 15 or more employees.
- Audit equal pay practices for employees engaged in substantially similar work.
- Audit recordkeeping of job titles and wage rate history for each employee.
C.E. webinar in January will cover employment law updates
CDA members are invited to join the live webinar “Employment Law Updates: What Dentists Need To Know for 2026” on Jan. 20, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. CDA Employment Practices Analyst Michelle Coker, PHR, PHRca, and Ali Oromchian, JD, CEO of HR for Health, will particularly cover new employee notices and pay-scale disclosure requirements, changes to employment recordkeeping and retention requirements and actions employers should take to comply with new laws.
Members can also sign in to use or print out CDA’s quick summary for all the laws discussed in this article.