California HR Compliance Checklist 2026
A comprehensive 57-item checklist covering California employment law requirements for small and mid-size businesses. Updated to reflect 2026 laws including SB 553 (WVPP), SB 1162 (pay transparency), and the Fair Chance Act.
Checklist Preview
Recruiting
- Pay scale in all job postings (15+ employees)
- No salary history requests
- Fair Chance Act — no conviction history before conditional offer (5+ employees)
I-9 Verification
- I-9 completed within 3 days of hire
- Acceptable documents verified
- I-9 stored separately from personnel file
Workplace Violence Prevention (WVPP)
- Written WVPP policy in place (SB 553)
- Annual WVPP training completed
- Violent incident log maintained
Wages & Hours
- All employees paid at or above $17.00/hr state minimum wage
- Meal and rest break policies followed
- Overtime calculated correctly (over 8hrs/day or 40hrs/week)
Employee Handbook
- Handbook reviewed in past 12 months
- Signed acknowledgment on file for all employees
- Anti-harassment policy meets CA CRD requirements
+ 6 more modules: Pay Equity, Leave Management, Benefits, Termination, Contractor Audit, EEO-1
Run the full interactive scan free →Key California Laws Covered
📧 Email me this report
Save results to your inbox
This is just one check area
Access 35+ free compliance tools across CA / TX / Federal
Recommended next
Need attorney help?
If issues were found, we can refer you to a licensed employment attorney
nacshr818@gmail.com →1st of each month · deadlines + tools · free · get this month's email now
Run Your Free Interactive Compliance Scan
Answer 57 yes/no questions. Get an instant risk score and top 3 priority items — free, no credit card required.
Start Free ScanAlso available in Chinese (中文) · Full bilingual AI report from $199