The California Legislature has departed for the summer recess, but not before continuing to amend and vote on pending bills, thus providing further clarity regarding the bills likely to be enacted into law. Many significant employment bills continue to move forward and have now passed one chamber of the Legislature and made progress through committees in the second chamber. While these bills still may be amended, and there is no guarantee that they will be enacted into law, they have survived another round of the legislative process.

We have identified the “Top Ten” proposed employment law changes that – if enacted– would have the most significant impact on California employers. These bills address hot topics including artificial intelligence, workplace surveillance, and responses to the uptick in federal immigration enforcement actions.

The deadline for bills to pass the legislative chamber of origin has expired, meaning we have reached the halfway point of the 2025 Legislative session. A significant number of new employment bills passed their house of origin and are beginning to work their way through the second chamber. We have identified the “Top Ten” bills that – if passed – would have the most significant impact on California employers. Notably, three of these bills are related to artificial intelligence, and another two are related to workplace surveillance – certainly two of the hottest topics this year.

The 2025 Legislative session is officially underway and has resulted in a significant number of new employment bills being introduced in the California Assembly and Senate. We are tracking more than 50 employment-related bills and numerous additional employment-related “spot” bills (essentially placeholders that allow legislators to come back later and propose more substantive legislation). We have identified the “Top Ten” bills that – if passed – would have the most significant impact on California employers.