California continues its expansion of equal pay protections with the enactment of Assembly Bill 168, which prohibits employers from seeking, considering, and relying on an applicant’s salary history when determining whether to offer employment to an applicant or what salary to offer. 

California became the first state to explicitly affirm the rights of immigrant workers through the passage of a provision that imposes an affirmative obligation on California employers to provide employees notification that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has determined they are lacking work authorization. 

Effective January 1, 2018, in order to take advantage of the overtime pay exemptions, California employers must pay computer software professionals a minimum of $43.58 per hour or $90,790.07 annually and licensed physicians and surgeons a minimum of $79.39 per hour. 

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has approved new regulations that expand the protections available for people who identify as transgender. The regulations also expand protections for gender identity and gender expression.