California Workplace & Employment Law Blog

In California, properly classifying an employee as exempt from overtime and other wage protections requires more than just a job title. Employers must satisfy both:

1. The Duties Test: The employee performs primarily exempt executive, administrative, or professional functions.
2. The Salary Basis Test: The employee earns a fixed salary that is at least twice the minimum wage for full-time work (40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year).

Most employers know the salary basis test is tied to the state minimum wage, which in 2025 is $16.50/hour, meaning the minimum exempt salary is $68,640/year. However, if your employees work in a city or county with a higher local minimum wage, failing to account for that higher rate could cost you significantly.

California’s new workplace violence prevention standards took effect on July 1, 2024.

As a result, California employers have a number of new legal obligations, including developing and implementing a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan; training employees on the Plan; identifying, evaluating and correcting workplace violence hazards; and various recordkeeping requirements.

State and federal law requires California employers to provide the following new hire documents to their employees at the time of hire. These forms have been updated from time to time, including for 2024.

The current list of required notices (with links to find the most up-to-date versions) are as follows: