California HR Compliance Checklist

SF: $18.67, LA: $17.28, SJ: $17.55. Fast food: $20/hr. Healthcare: $18-23/hr.

California requires daily OT at 1.5x after 8 hrs and 2x after 12 hrs. This is stricter than federal law.

Must be duty-free. Penalty: 1 hour of pay per day violated. Second meal break required after 10 hrs.

Must be in the middle of each work period. Cannot be combined with meal break.

Gross/net wages, total hours, pay period dates, employer name/address, all deductions, hourly rate, employee name/ID.

Three-prong test: (A) Free from control, (B) Outside usual business, (C) Independently established trade.

2x state minimum wage for full-time. Must also meet duties test (executive, administrative, professional).

SB 1162: Required for employers with 15+ employees. Must provide range to applicants upon request.

AB 168/Labor Code 432.3: Cannot ask about prior salary. Must provide pay scale upon reasonable request.

Fair Chance Act (AB 1008): No conviction questions on applications. Individualized assessment required.

AB 2188: Cannot test for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites. Can still test for impairment.

SB 616: Accrual or frontload. Available after 90 days. Can be used for family member care.

12 weeks unpaid job-protected leave. No tenure requirement for pregnancy disability leave (PDL).

5 days for death of spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, in-law.

2 hrs for supervisors, 1 hr for non-supervisors. Every 2 years. Within 6 months of hire/promotion.

Failing to engage in interactive process is itself a violation under FEHA, even if no accommodation exists.

Termination: immediate. Resignation with 72 hrs notice: last day. Without notice: within 72 hrs.

California WARN: 60 days notice for 50+ layoffs. Applies at 75 employees (vs federal 100).

Internet, phone, home office equipment. Must reimburse reasonable and necessary business expenses.

California law follows the employee, not the employer. Out-of-state companies must comply.