November 2026 ALLEVITY EMPLOYER SOLUTIONS / CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER GUIDE A PEO, or Professional Employer Organization, is an employer's teammate. Under a co-employment agreement, the PEO accepts shared responsibility and liability for employment…

Updated October 2026 / ALLEVITY EMPLOYER SOLUTIONS / CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER GUIDE Yes, California businesses can use independent contractors—but California decides who qualifies. Starting with the assumption that every worker is an employee, the…

California requires nearly every employer, whatever its size, to give each employee who works in the state for at least 30 days a year a minimum of 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year. Under Labor Code section 246 the time accrues at…

Updated September 2026 When you fire or lay someone off in California, every wage the employee earned is due immediately. An employee who quits with at least 72 hours' notice is owed the final check on their last day; one who quits without notice is…

Updated August 2026 California Labor Code Section 226 requires nine specific pieces of information on every wage statement. A pay stub that leaves one out, states one incorrectly, or prints one illegibly is a violation of that code, even when every…

Allevity Employer Solutions | Blog In California, you pay whichever minimum wage is highest for the place the work happens: the state rate, the county rate, or the city rate. As of 2026 the state floor is $16.90 an hour, and dozens of California…

California HR Compliance California is an at-will state, which means employers can end employment at any time without a stated reason—if said reason isn't illegal. In real life, it requires getting a short list of legal requirements exactly right:…

California’s 2024 PAGA reforms—effective October 1, 2024—changed the penalty structure, introduced new cure rights for certain violations, tightened who can file a claim, and created a new early evaluation process for larger employers. Fundamentals…

California requires nonexempt employees to receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for shifts over five hours, and a 10-minute paid rest break for every four hours worked. Miss either one and you owe the employee an additional hour of pay at their…

PAGA—the Private Attorneys General Act—lets California employees sue their employers for Labor Code violations on behalf of the state, without needing to form a class. If the claim succeeds, the employer pays 75% of the penalties to the state and…