Ahead of the constitutional deadline for bill approval, Governor Newsom has signed two measures that will be of interest to all California employers, including agricultural employers:

SB 294 (Reyes) will require California employers to provide stand-alone written notices of employees’ rights under California law to each newly-hired employee and annually to existing employees. SB 294 represents a significant expansion of postings imposed by the 2011 Wage Theft Protection Act, which mandates current Labor Code Section 2810.5 notices at time of hire.

The Labor Commissioner is tasked by SB 294 with creating a template notice to be available by January 1, 2026.

SB 513 (Durazo) expands existing employee rights to review their own personnel files. Now, current and former employees have a legally-protected right to inspect and receive a copy of employers’ records related to employee performance. SB 513 allows employees to inspect and receive copies pertaining to education and training received by the employee, including:

• Employee name
• Training provider
• Duration and date of training
• Core competencies imparted by the training
• Any resulting certification or qualification

Both SB 294 and SB 513 become effective on January 1, 2026.