{"id":6674,"date":"2012-04-23T08:42:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-23T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=6674"},"modified":"2026-07-27T03:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:45:52","slug":"california-employment-law","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/california-employment-law\/","title":{"rendered":"California employment law overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by The<\/strong> Brightmine Editorial Team<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many consider California the state with the most proscriptive variances from federal law, including broader antidiscrimination protections, a higher minimum wage, paid family leave insurance and paid sick leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select California employment requirements are summarized below to help an employer understand the range of employment laws affecting the employer-employee relationship in the state. An employer must comply with federal, state, and local law. Where there is overlap, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and worker protections <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

California employers may be required to comply with requirements related to EEO<\/a> and worker protections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair employment practices <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits certain employers from discriminating in the terms and conditions of employment. Protected characteristics include but are not limited to race (including hair texture, protective hairstyles and other traits historically associated with race), religion, color, national origin and ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical information, genetic information, marital status, sex (including breastfeeding and related conditions), sexual orientation gender identity\/gender expression, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), age and military or veteran status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harassment is a form of illegal discrimination that is prohibited under the FEHA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FEHA also prohibits retaliation against a person who opposes, reports or assists another person in opposing unlawful discrimination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equal pay <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

California prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and ethnicity in the payment of wages for substantially similar work. As a defense against a wage discrimination claim, an employer must show that the pay differential is based on a bona fide factor other than sex, such as seniority, merit, quality or quantity of production, education, training or experience. Prior salary, on its own, does not justify a wage differential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay transparency  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

California has a pay transparency law<\/a> that requires employers of a certain size to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. In addition, all California employers, upon request, must provide an applicant with the pay scale for the position to which they are applying and must provide an employee with the pay scale for their current position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salary history inquiry restrictions <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

California prohibits an employer from relying on a job applicant’s salary history as a factor in determining whether to offer employment or what salary to offer. The law bans employers from asking applicants about their salary history, including compensation and benefits, orally or in writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An employer may consider or rely on salary history information that an applicant discloses voluntarily and without prompting, but may not rely on prior salary, by itself, to justify any disparity in compensation. In addition, an employer must provide a position’s pay scale to an applicant who makes a reasonable request for that information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee wage disclosure rights <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An employer may not prohibit employees from disclosing, discussing or inquiring about their own wages or the wages of another employee and may not discriminate or retaliate against employees for engaging in such conduct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pregnancy accommodation <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The FEHA requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee because of pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. Examples of reasonable accommodation include modified duties, schedules or equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breastfeeding breaks <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A California employer must provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child each time the employee has need to express milk. When possible, the break time should run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time that does not run concurrently with the existing break time does not have to be paid. An employer is not required to provide break time if doing so would seriously disrupt the employer’s operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An employer must provide an employee with the use of a room or other location for the employee to express milk in private. The room or location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets certain legal requirements. Under certain circumstances, an employer may claim undue hardship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An employer must develop and implement a lactation accommodation policy and include it in the employee handbook or policies provided to employees. The employer must distribute the policy to new employees upon hire and when an employee makes an inquiry about or requests parental leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to personnel files <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

California employers must provide current and former employees with access to their personnel files<\/a>. The employer must make the records available for inspection by the requester at reasonable times and intervals, but generally no later than 30 calendar days after receiving a written request. The employer may charge a fee that equals the actual cost of copying the materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whistleblower protections <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A California employer may not make, adopt or enforce any rule, regulation or policy preventing an employee from being a whistleblower. Also, an employer may not retaliate because an employee: <\/p>\n\n\n\n