2026 California Employment Law Updates
1. Wage & Hour Updates
A. Minimum Wage & Salary Thresholds
Effective Jan 1, 2026:
- CA minimum wage: $16.90/hr
- City of San Diego minimum wage: $17.75/hr
- Exempt salary threshold: $70,304/year
- Computer professional: $122,573.13/year or $58.85/hr
- Separate requirements for Inside/Outside Sales
Healthcare worker wage schedule:
- Effective Oct 16, 2024: $18–$23/hr depending on facility
- By July 1, 2026: Large systems & dialysis clinics must pay $25/hr
- By January 1, 2026: Exempt salary for healthcare workers is the greater of 150% of healthcare workers minimum wage or 200% of the applicable state minimum wage
Los Angeles Metroplex
- Effective July 1, 2026, City of Los Angeles hotel and airport: $25/hr
Effective July 1, 2025, (with increase in July 2026) County of Los Angeles: $17.81/hr
Updates by individual CA Cities:
- Belmont: $18.95 per hour.
- Burlingame: $17.86 per hour.
- Cupertino: $18.70 per hour.
- Daly City: $17.50 per hour.
- East Palo Alto: $17.90 per hour.
- El Cerrito: $18.82 per hour.
- Foster City: $17.85 per hour.
- Half Moon Bay: $17.91 per hour.
- Hayward: $17.79 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees; $16.90 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees (per state law).
- Los Altos: $18.70 per hour.
- Menlo Park: $17.55 per hour.
- Mountain View: $19.70 per hour.
- Novato: $17.73 per hour for employers with 100 or more employees; $17.46 per hour for employers with 26-99 employees; $16.90 per hour for employers with 1-25 employees.
- Oakland: $17.34 per hour.
- Palo Alto: $18.70 per hour.
- Petaluma: $18.31 per hour.
- Redwood City: $18.65 per hour.
- Richmond: $19.18 per hour.
- San Carlos: $17.75 per hour.
- San Diego (city): $17.75 per hour.
- San Jose: $18.45 per hour.
- San Mateo (city): $18.60 per hour.
- San Mateo County: $17.95 per hour.
- Santa Clara: $18.70 per hour.
- Santa Rosa: $18.21 per hour.
- Sonoma (city): $18.47 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees; $17.38 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
- South San Francisco: $18.15 per hour.
- Sunnyvale: $19.50 per hour.
- West Hollywood: $20.25 per hour.
- Check your individual city for updated minimum wage updates
- Audit your pay rates for all employees
- Employers will need to update their required employment posters and notices for 2026
- Employers in the hospitality industry should watch industry-specific minimum wage schedules — including Los Angeles City’s hotel and airport worker minimum wage (which also sets the rate for Santa Monica hotel workers)
- San Diego’s new Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance for hotel, event center and amusement park employees, with phased-in increases over the next several years.
- Ensure that your exempt employees are above the exempt salary threshold of $70,304 annually ($122,573.13 for Computer Professionals) also verify duties to ensure they still meet duties test. Perform a separate test for Inside/Outside Sales positions.