Worker Rights and Protections

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California has established some of the nation’s strongest worker protections, but statutory changes alone do not guarantee economic security. Persistent enforcement challenges leave many low-wage workers vulnerable, while artificial intelligence, gig work, climate risks, immigration enforcement, and evolving employment relationships are creating new questions about how workers should be protected. California’s next governor will need to strengthen enforcement of existing rights while adapting the state’s approach to ensure worker protections remain effective and nimble in a rapidly changing economy.

Funding Highlight

$35M

2026-27 budget to continue education efforts through the California Worker Outreach Project1[1]

Critical Focus Areas For The Next Governor

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Modernizing California’s worker rights and protections policies for the new-age workforce.

The economy is changing and the approach to protecting workers must change with it. California has experimented with sector specific minimum wages, but its leadership must continue to think strategically about the balance between enabling entrepreneurship and protecting the most vulnerable in a changing worker-employer dynamic. Shifts to collective bargaining, the rise of gig work, and the implications of a changing climate on outdoor workers must all be taken into consideration as the next governor shapes new worker protection policies. AI compounds all of this. Beyond reshaping demands for workforce skills and jobs, its rise coincides with a wave of business-owner retirements giving the next administration a timely opportunity to design policy that expands worker benefit.

Enforcement and expansion of worker rights and protections.

While the next governor thinks about the future, he must take into consideration the realities of the present. While there are several worker protection policies in place now, many of them are not being enforced, causing the issue to lose integrity. As worker protections change, wage theft has become a dominant conversation in the field. Enforcement on behalf of immigrants is even more challenging considering the federal government’s creation of a hostile environment for even documented workers. A recent audit of the California Labor Commissioner’s office outlines steps for improving enforcement and ongoing grant programming aims to support enforcement through local mechanisms. These efforts could be further expanded to ensure the protection of workers.

Key Stats

  • 47K backlogged wage claims[2]
  • 1 in 3 Californians are concerned that AI could cause them to lose their jobs[3]
  • $8.55 million in competitive grants awarded in 2025 for Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program[4]
  • 90% of regular wages now available to some workers leveraging Paid Family Leave and State Disability[5]

Key Leadership Decisions

CA Labor Commissioner

Director, Department of Industrial Relations

Cabinet Secretaries and Advisers and Legislative Affairs Secretaries for Labor and Criminal Justice

Strategic Questions for Consider­ation

  • What enforcement tactics are working, and where should the next governor re-design the system to ensure it maintains integrity?
  • What incentives and repercussions can be established through policy to ensure the future economy does not deepen disparities for low-wage workers?

Programs to Know

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California Worker Outreach Project

Helps vulnerable workers understand and exercise their workplace rights, raising awareness of wage protections, health and safety standards, and enforcement tools. Especially vital in industries with frequent labor violations.

Why it matters

  • Bridges the gap between rights and access
  • Leverages CBOs to reach workers that traditional enforcement systems miss
  • Is not a replacement for the backlog of cases
  • Not a statutory funding structure; the next governor must decide on the future of the program

Visit the California Worker Outreach Project web page.

Employee ownership benefits

Ownership models can give workers wealth beyond wage growth, help distribute productivity gains, and keep jobs and workplace culture in place when business owners leave or retire. Increased state support for these models ensures low-wage workers benefit from well-crafted succession plans.

Why it matters

  • More state support toward employee ownership would be a timely worker intervention.
  • The baby boomer generation is entering retirement and this large group of business owners is strategizing around their legacy.
  • Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Equity Compensation Plans ensure that employees benefit from the productivity gains realized due to evolving technology.
  • CalOSBA houses the Employee Ownership Hub, but substantive investments like resources or expanded tax advantages to incentivize adoption have fallen short and statutory expectations have yet to be met.[6]

Visit the Cal OSBA’s Employee Ownership web page.

Private Attorney General’s Act (PAGA)

Violation of worker rights disproportionately affects low-wage workers and can undermine economic mobility even when wages rise. Enforcement is a key mechanism for ensuring workers receive legally earned income and benefits.

Why it matters

  • PAGA adds private enforcement capacity to the state’s labor-law system, potentially easing the load of backlogged cases
  • Recent reforms aim to balance worker remedies, employer compliance, and reduce burden created by high-filer attorneys
  • PAGA only allows for civil penalties; recovery of unpaid wages is commonly pursued through a concurrent wage claim

Visit the Private Attorney General’s Act web page.

  • [1] Federal Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) money is allocated to each state based on unemployment data. States and local workforce boards must use the funds to prepare jobseekers for high-quality employment.