2026 Essential Executive Checklist for California HR and People Ops Leadership

The California table highlights the 2026 state-specific requirements that most directly impact nonprofits and scaling startups employing—or hiring remotely—in California. Because CA rules often set the highest bar in wage/hour, notices, pay data reporting, contracting, and recordkeeping, the table is structured to drive execution: each row links to an official source, summarizes the business impact, clarifies who is covered, and translates the rule into an actionable checklist with target dates so you can stay compliant while sustaining growth and minimizing litigation and penalty exposure.

Regulation / Source (official)	Summary	Applicability (size, type of org)	HR Action Checklist	Target date
CA minimum wage (DIR) https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm	DIR announces an indexed statewide minimum wage for 2026; this drives downstream compliance (exempt salary threshold, local wage differentials).	Any CA employer (including out-of-state orgs with CA remote employees)	Confirm 2026 statewide + local city/county wage rates by worksite; update offer letters, payroll, timekeeping, and budgeting	Before first 2026 CA payroll
CA exempt salary threshold (tied to CA minimum wage) https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_overtime.htm	CA exemption salary floor is tied to minimum wage (material cost impact for startups).	CA employers with exempt classifications (executive/administrative/professional)	Recalculate exempt salary floor and re-validate exemption classifications; adjust comp bands; document duties tests	By 12/31/2025
Workplace Know Your Rights Act – SB 294 (Senate Judiciary analysis) https://sjud.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2025-04/sb-294-reyes-sjud-analysis.pdf	Requires standalone employee rights notices (timed rollout) and includes emergency contact notice if an employee is arrested/detained at worksite.	Broadly applies to CA employers; especially relevant to nonprofits/startups with multilingual workforces	Build distribution process for annual notice; align language delivery to “language normally used”; set up emergency contact workflow + privacy controls; update handbook and supervisor training	By 2/1/2026, then annually
SB 294 – fact sheet (Senator Reyes) https://sd29.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd29.senate.ca.gov/files/pdf/SB%20294%20Reyes%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf	Highlights intent and practical expectations for employer compliance communications.	CA employers	Use as exec-level comms backbone: what changes, who owns it (HR/Legal/Operations), and how to operationalize without disrupting operations	Q4 2025 planning; execute by 2/1/2026
Contractual restraints (“stay-or-pay” / repayment terms) – AB 692 (Senate Judiciary analysis) https://sjud.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2025-07/ab-692-kalra-sjud-analysis.pdf	Expands restrictions on contract terms that effectively restrain worker mobility; adds liability exposure.	CA employers using training repayment agreements, sign-on repayment, relocation repayment, “liquidated damages,” or similar	Audit offer letters, equity agreements, training repayment, and any debt/repayment clauses; rewrite to fit within exceptions; implement contract review gate before issuance	By 12/31/2025 (effective 1/1/2026)
Pay Equity Enforcement Act – SB 642 (Senator fact sheet) https://sd21.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd21.senate.ca.gov/files/pdf/SB%20642%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf	Strengthens equal pay/pay transparency enforcement (e.g., longer lookback/statute considerations) and clarifies expectations.	CA employers, especially those hiring at scale or using broad pay ranges; biopharma/med-device competition makes this high-risk/high-value	Tighten pay range governance (“good faith” ranges), documentation, and internal mobility pay practices; run privileged pay equity review; refresh job architecture	By 1/1/2026
Personnel file access expansion – SB 513 (CA Legislative Information) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB513	Expands records subject to inspection (including education/training records) and raises operational expectations for HR recordkeeping.	CA employers; particularly regulated industries (biopharma/med-device) with heavy training qualification records	Re-architect HR files: separate training records, define retention schedules, create response SOPs + timelines, and train HR team on compliant disclosures	By 1/1/2026
Pay data report amendments – SB 464 (chaptered bill text) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB464	Requires demographic information for pay data reporting to be stored separately from personnel records; strengthens penalty posture; expands job categories starting 2027.	Private employers with 100+ employees and labor-contractor arrangements	Separate demographic data storage now (do not wait for 2027); validate HRIS security model; confirm contractor data feeds; prepare for expanded job categories roadmap	By 1/1/2026 (data segregation)
CA Pay Data Reporting – statutory deadline framing (CRD) https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/paydatareporting/	Pay data report due second Wednesday of May each year (covers prior calendar year).	Private employers with 100+ employees (and separate contractor report if applicable)	Lock internal calendar, data owners (HR/Payroll/Legal), and vendor extract timelines; run a “dry-run” by March; remediate job category mapping and missing demographics	By May 2026 deadline (plan Q1–Q2 2026)
CPRA/CPPA regulations — enforcement environment (CPPA) https://cppa.ca.gov/regulations/	California privacy rulemaking continues to mature (employee data is in scope of CPRA; HR systems, monitoring tools, and ADMT risk profiles require attention).	Any employer with CA employees or applicants; especially tech-enabled recruiting, monitoring, or AI	Refresh HR privacy notices; map HR data flows; implement vendor DPAs and retention controls; establish a process to respond to CA privacy requests for employee/applicant data	Q1–Q3 2026 (risk-based rollout)

Sector-specific implications (biopharma, medical devices, nonprofits)

Biopharma + MedTech (common 2026 HR pressure points)

• Immigration-heavy talent: H-1B cost/fee changes, EAD continuity risk, and (in CA) AB 692 contract restrictions mean you need a formal mobility budget + policy (what the company pays, what it does not, and how it’s documented). USCIS+2USCIS+2

• Regulated workforce + distributed operations: classification rigor (exempt/non-exempt), timekeeping discipline, and documentation are often tested in due diligence and audits—especially when teams span lab/manufacturing + remote corporate functions.

Nonprofits

• Retirement design: 403(b) / 457(b) limits and payroll alignment are common internal control gaps; treat annual limit changes as part of your finance audit calendar. IRS

• Reporting discipline: pay data obligations (if applicable), compensation governance, and equity documentation can become reputational issues—especially for donor-facing organizations.