CA · state labor law, 2026
California labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
The state with the most rules for hourly workers: a daily overtime clock, a meal and rest schedule with a penalty hour, local wages above the state rate and pay due the day you are let go.
California and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $16.90/h
- statewide
- From January 1, 2027
- $17.40/h
- announced rate
- Tipped cash wage
- full minimum
- no tip credit
- Overtime
- 8 h/day or 40 h/week
- state law
- Paid sick leave
- 1 h per 30 h
- cap 40 h a year
- Paid family leave
- 8 weeks
- California Paid Family Leave (PFL), part of State Disability Insurance (SDI), run by the EDD
California's minimum wage is $16.90 an hour in 2026 for every employer, whatever its size, and it rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027. Tipped workers receive the full rate before tips, because the state allows no tip credit. Overtime is counted by the day as well as by the week: time and a half after 8 hours in a workday or 40 in a workweek, double time after 12 hours in a day, plus a special rule for the seventh consecutive day. Salaried staff must earn at least $1,352 a week, twice the minimum wage for full-time work, to be treated as exempt. Workers earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, State Disability Insurance pays Paid Family Leave for up to 8 weeks, and a fired employee must be paid in full, unused vacation included, at the moment of dismissal.
Gross pay for this week in California
$676
Time and a half after 8 hours in a day or after 40 hours in a week; double time after 12 hours in a day; 7th consecutive day rule
| Minimum wage in California now | $16.90 an hour |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | 40 hours (cap reached) |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | 30 min meal, 2 x 10 min paid rest |
| Final paycheck if fired | immediately at the time of termination, including accrued vacation |
| Unused vacation at the end | Accrued vacation must be paid out |
| Paid family leave | California Paid Family Leave (PFL), part of State Disability Insurance (SDI), run by the EDD, up to 8 weeks |
40 hours a week at $16.90. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
Overtime by the day, not only by the week
Most states look only at the weekly total. California also starts the overtime clock every morning. Take a warehouse worker paid $20 an hour who works four 10-hour shifts and one 10-hour Saturday: 50 hours in all. Under the federal rule alone that week pays $1,100. California counts 2 overtime hours on each of the five days, and the week comes to $1,100, the same here because the daily hours also total 10. The difference shows on uneven weeks: three 13-hour shifts total only 39 hours, under the federal threshold, yet in California each of those days carries 4 hours at time and a half and 1 hour at double time.
Compare two states for a full-time minimum wage job
Texas / California, per hour
$7.25 / $16.90
| Full-time year (2,080 h) | $15,080 / $35,152 |
| Gap over a year | $20,072 |
| Paid sick leave law | no / yes |
| Paid family leave program | no / yes |
A state rate, then a city rate
Cities and counties may set their own minimum wage, and 13 large ones do. Emeryville pays $20.34, and several Bay Area and Los Angeles County cities raise their rate every July 1 rather than in January. The local figure applies to the hours you work inside the city limits, so a delivery driver who spends part of the day in Emeryville and part in Oakland is owed each rate for the time spent there. Long Beach is a trap for comparisons: it has no general city minimum wage, only a rate for hotel workers. Two industries have their own statewide floors as well, $20 for workers at large fast-food chains and a tiered scale for health care facilities.
City minimum wage against the state rate
Flagstaff (AZ), per hour
$18.35
| Arizona state rate | $15.15 |
| Difference per hour | $3.20 |
| Difference over a year | $6,656 |
| Year at the city rate | $38,168 |
Meal and rest breaks that cost the employer an hour
A shift of more than 5 hours carries a 30-minute unpaid meal period, and a second one after 10 hours, each of which can be waived only in the narrow cases the Labor Code allows. Rest breaks are paid: 10 minutes for every 4 hours or major fraction of 4. When an employer does not provide a required break, it owes the worker one extra hour of pay at the regular rate for each day the meal period was missed, and another for missed rest breaks. The Labor Commissioner explains both premiums in its meal period and rest period guidance.
Leaving a job
A dismissed worker is owed every wage, including earned vacation, on the last day. Someone who quits without notice must be paid within 72 hours, and on the last day if they gave 72 hours' notice. Vacation cannot be lost under a use-it-or-lose-it policy, although an employer may cap how much accrues. When an employer pays late on purpose, the Labor Commissioner can award a waiting time penalty of a day of wages for each day late, up to 30 calendar days. The final paycheck calculator dates the deadline from your last day.
Leave beyond the FMLA
The California Family Rights Act protects up to 12 weeks of leave at employers with 5 or more employees, far below the federal threshold of 50, and Paid Family Leave replaces roughly 70 to 90 percent of wages, up to $1,765 a week, while it lasts. Paid sick leave can be capped at 40 hours or 5 days of use a year, whichever is more, and several cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco among them, require more.
California employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Statewide (all employers) | $16.90 | Higher local rates apply in many cities/counties; separate $20 fast-food and tiered health-care minimum wages |
| January 1, 2027 | Statewide (all employers) | $17.40 | Certified by the Department of Finance on July 31, 2026; DIR news release 2026-66 dated August 13, 2026 |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Learners (any age) may be paid not less than 85% of the minimum wage, rounded to the nearest nickel, during their first 160 hours of employment in an occupation in which they have no previous similar experience. No separate youth wage: minors get the same minimum wage as adults. Read the California rule.
Cities and counties with their own minimum wage
| Place | Rate | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (city) | $18.42 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas) | $18.47 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| San Francisco | $19.61 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| San Jose | $18.45 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Oakland | $17.34 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| San Diego (city) | $17.75 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Berkeley | $19.61 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Mountain View | $19.70 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Sunnyvale | $19.50 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Santa Monica | $18.47 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| West Hollywood | $20.25 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Emeryville | $20.34 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Pasadena | $18.57 | July 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
Overtime
Time and a half after 8 hours in a day or after 40 hours in a week; 2x the regular rate for hours over 12 in a workday and for hours over 8 on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek; 1.5x for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek; 2x after 8 hours that day. Salaried white-collar employees must earn at least $1,352.00 a week to be exempt under state law (2026: twice the state minimum wage for full-time work = $16.90 x 2 x 40 = $1,352/week ($70,304/year), white-collar exemptions. Rises to $72,384/year ($1,392/week) on 2027-01-01.), above the federal $684. 1.5x the regular rate for hours over 8 (up to 12) in a workday and over 40 in a workweek. source
Sick leave and family leave
Paid sick leave: 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (or an up-front grant / alternative accrual) (Employers may limit use to 40 hours or 5 days per year (whichever is more) and total accrual to 80 hours or 10 days. Up-front policies: 24 hours/3 days by day 120 of employment. Before 2024 the limits were 24 h use / 48 h accrual. Some cities (e.g. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Emeryville) have more generous local sick-leave rules.), all employers; covers employees who work 30+ days for the same employer within a year in California. Use may be restricted until the 90th day of employment. source
California Paid Family Leave (PFL), part of State Disability Insurance (SDI), run by the EDD: up to 8 weeks, benefits payable since July 1, 2004, About 70-90% of wages (depending on income), based on the highest quarter of the base period, up to the maximum weekly benefit; minimum $50/week, maximum $1,765.00 a week in 2026. State Disability Insurance (DI): up to 52 weeks for the worker's own non-work-related illness, injury or pregnancy, same 70-90% formula and $1,765 maximum. California Family Rights Act (CFRA): up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period; employers with 5 or more employees; employee needs more than 12 months of service and 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months. PFL itself gives no job protection. source
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: immediately at the time of termination, including accrued vacation. Quitting: within 72 hours of quitting; immediately at the time of quitting if the employee gave at least 72 hours' notice; with notice: 72 hours' notice makes final pay due on the last day. Vacation: Earned vacation vests and cannot be forfeited (no use-it-or-lose-it); all earned, unused vacation must be paid at the final rate of pay at separation. Employers may cap further accrual.. source vacation rule
Meal and rest breaks
Meal: 30-minute meal period for work periods over 5 hours (waivable by mutual consent if the day is no more than 6 hours); a second 30-minute meal period for over 10 hours (waivable if no more than 12 hours and the first was not waived). Rest: Net 10-minute paid rest period for every 4 hours worked or major fraction thereof (more than 2 hours); not required if the day is under 3.5 hours. Missed meal or rest period = one extra hour of pay per day.. source
Unions and dismissal
California has no right-to-work law, so a union contract may require a fee from the workers it covers. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract.
Also worth knowing in California
- Fast-food restaurant employees covered by AB 1228 must be paid at least $20.00 per hour since April 1, 2024 (set by the state Fast Food Council). source
- Health-care workers at covered facilities have a separate, tiered minimum wage (SB 525) since October 16, 2024. From July 1, 2026: $25 at large health systems (10,000+ FTE), dialysis clinics and large-county facilities; $23 at most other covered facilities; $22 at community/rural clinics; $19.28 at safety-net hospitals and small-county facilities. source
- The statewide minimum wage rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027, which lifts the exempt-employee salary floor to $72,384 a year. source
- California has daily overtime: time and a half after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12, plus special seventh-consecutive-day rules. source