Believe it or not, we are almost half-way into 2026 and the California Legislature has been busy proposing new legislation that will impact the workplace. The Legislative calendar will take us through August 31, 2026 which is the deadline for the Legislature to pass any bills that have been proposed and get them to the Governor’s office to sign or veto by September 30, 2026. Below are just a few of the proposed employment-related bills to watch:

AB 1940

AB 1940 would include perimenopause, menopause, and other related medical conditions within the definition of “sex” under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).  Thus, it would be illegal to harass or discriminate against someone on the basis of such conditions. The Bill also would require the California Civil Rights Department to update its poster notifying women of their rights and protections in connection with these conditions.

AB 1940 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 19, 2026.

AB 2563

AB 2563 would require, under all state laws, that any provision that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, discrimination on the basis of gender, or similar discrimination be interpreted to prohibit sex discrimination. The Bill would define “sex discrimination” to include, among other things, discrimination based on any of specified actual or perceived characteristics or actions, including based on degree of conformity to sex or gender stereotypes. The Bill provides that the definition reflects the existing protections of specified state constitutional laws, and thus all state laws should be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose of such constitutional protections.

AB 2563 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 19, 2026.

AB 1803

AB 1803 would amend the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to require that the mandatory harassment prevention training employers with 5 or more employees must provide every two years, include a component on anti-hate speech training. The Bill provides that “anti-hate speech training shall provide supervisors and employees with practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on the protected characteristics listed in [FEHA].”

AB 1803 is an active bill that is currently in the committee process. It was referred to the Labor & Employment, Judiciary, and Public Employment & Retirement Committees on May 13, 2026 for analysis.

AB 1578

AB 1578 is similar to AB 1803 and would require that mandatory harassment prevention training for public employees in state and local agencies also contain an anti-hate speech component beginning on January 1, 2028.

AB 1578 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 18, 2026.

SB 1032

SB 1032 would require a “staffing agency” as defined, to register with the California Labor Commissioner before conducting business in the state and annually thereafter.  The staffing agency would have to satisfy certain conditions, including certifying under penalty of perjury that it has current workers compensation insurance in place for its employees.  The Bill would prohibit businesses from using the services of a staffing agency that is not properly registered with the Labor Commissioner.  It would also authorize properly registered staffing agencies (competitors) to bring a civil action against an unregistered staffing agency or a business that uses the services of an unregistered staffing agency.

SB 1032 is an active bill in the floor process and was amended on May 14, 2026 to define “staffing agency” and was ordered to a third reading on May 18, 2026.

SB 1149

SB 1149 would amend California’s statutory bereavement leave law by adding “designated persons” to the definition of a “family member” for which leave can be taken.  Under the Bill, a “designated person” shall be defined as “any individual related to the employee by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. This designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave.” The addition of “designated person” to the statutory bereavement leave statute is consistent with prior legislation permitting employees to take paid sick leave, CFRA leave, or qualifying acts of violence leave, to care for a “designated person” as the term is defined in each respective statute.

SB 1149 was passed by the Senate and read for first time in the Assembly on May 20, 2026.  It is currently being “held at desk” pending referral.

SB 1237

SB 1237 would amend the California’s fair pay act law, to increase  the penalty for a covered employer’s failure to submit pay data reports to the California Civil Rights Department that list the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex, and as specified, within each job category, the combination of those protected classes, and the median and mean hourly rate of pay.  The current civil penalty is $100 per employee for the initial failure to report, and $200 per employee for any subsequent failure to report.  The Bill will increase the penalty for subsequent failures to file the report from $200 to $1,000 per employee.

SB 1237 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 14, 2026.

AB 2495

Existing law prohibits an employer or any other person from engaging in, or directing another person to engage in, an unfair immigration-related practice against a person for the purpose of, or with the intent of, retaliating against any person for exercising a right protected under state labor and employment laws or under a local ordinance applicable to employees, as specified. AB 2496 expand the above-described prohibition to include retaliating against any person for exercising any right under any local, state, or federal statute or regulation applicable to employees and would prohibit preventing a person from exercising such a right. The bill would also prohibit an employer or any other person from engaging in any other conduct, related to any person’s actual or perceived immigration status, that would dissuade a reasonable person from engaging in conduct that the person has a legal right to engage in under any local, state, or federal statute or regulation applicable to employees, or to induce a reasonable person to engage in conduct that the person has a legal right to abstain from under any local, state, or federal statute or regulation applicable to employees. The bill would make an employer or other person who violates these provisions liable for a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000 per employee or person for each violation, as specified. The bill would also make related and conforming changes to these provisions.

AB 2495 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 18, 2026.

AB 1883

AB 1883 would regulate the use of workplace surveillance tools and an employer’s use of worker data. The Bill would prohibit an employer from using a workplace surveillance tool on workers for various purposes, including preventing compliance with laws or regulations, inferring information about workers engaging in a protected activity, making inferences about an individual’s emotional state or based on their gait, or collecting neural data. The Bill would prohibit an employer from using facial recognition technology to make inferences about a worker for firing, deactivation, or disciplinary purposes. The Bill would, with certain exceptions, also prohibit an employer from using a workplace surveillance tool to infer specified categories of information about a worker, including, among others, their veteran status, ancestral history, religious beliefs, or disability status.

AB 1883 would exempt from its provisions the use of a workplace artificial intelligence tool or a workplace surveillance tool to the extent that its use is required by, or reasonably necessary to comply with, a federal statute, federal regulation, or binding federal contract relating to the development of aircraft for use in the national airspace or the development of products or services for national security, military, space, or defense purposes.

The Bill would require the California Labor Commissioner to enforce the Bill’s provisions, would authorize an employee to bring a civil action for specified remedies for a violation of the bill’s provisions, and would authorize a public prosecutor to enforce the provisions. The Bill would subject an employer who violates the law to a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation.

AB 1883 is an active bill in the floor process and was ordered to a third reading on May 19, 2026.

The above Bills represent just a handful of the legislation being considered by the Legislature this term; there are many more industry-specific and public-sector bills being discussed. We will continue to monitor the progress of proposed legislation and, we encourage employers to keep an eye out for which bills make it to the Governor’s desk later this year.