PIHRA Government Advocacy Team California Legal Summary – July 2025

Prepared by: Breann D.H. Cortes, Esq., Legislative Analyst, PIHRA Government Advocacy Team (GAT) | Contact: bcortes@lightgablerlaw.com

Effective July 1, 2025, California enacted several significant updates to its employment laws, reflecting the state’s ongoing commitment to enhancing worker protections and expanding access to essential services. These legislative changes encompass a range of areas, including local minimum wage adjustments, expanded health insurance coverage for fertility treatments, strengthened workplace protections for domestic workers, and improvements to the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (“CARE”) Act. Employers and employees alike must be aware of these developments to ensure compliance and to understand the evolving landscape of labor rights and benefits in the state.

1. Local Minimum Wage Updates Effective July 1, 2025

It was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?” In light of this notion, we bring you the applicable minimum wage increases effective July 1, 2025, for local jurisdictions in the State of California.

If your business employs workers, including remote employees, in any of the locations listed below, ensure their hourly wages meet or exceed the updated local rates by July 1, 2025.

• Alameda: $17.46
• Berkeley: $19.18
• Emeryville: $19.90
• Fremont: $17.75
• Los Angeles: $17.87
• Los Angeles County (unincorporated): $17.81
• Milpitas: $18.20
• Pasadena: $18.04
• San Francisco: $19.18
• Santa Monica: $17.81

This article only addresses some of the minimum wage increases that are effective on July 1, 2025. Other cities and counties increase their wages every January 1st.  A complete list of the various cities and counties within California can be found here https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/inventory-of-us-city-and-county-minimum-wage-ordinances/#s-3 .  Be sure to review all possible local, state and federal minimum wages laws that might apply to your employees.

2. SB 729 – Required Health Plan Coverage for Fertility Services

Senate Bill 729 introduces a significant expansion of reproductive health care rights in California. Effective January 1, 2026, the law mandates that many employer-sponsored health plans provide coverage for infertility diagnosis and fertility treatment. The bill is part of a broader movement to advance reproductive equity and ensure that individuals and families—regardless of sexual orientation, marital status, or medical history—have fair access to fertility services.

Effective Date and Scope

Commencing January 1, 2026, the law applies to all large group health care service plan contracts and large group disability insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed in California. These plans must provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility services. Additionally, small group health care service plans and small group disability insurance policies are required to offer this coverage, although they are not mandated to provide it as a standard benefit.

There are several important exemptions under the law. SB 729 does not apply to religious employers, Medi-Cal managed care plans, or specialized health plans and policies such as accident-only or hospital indemnity coverage. Notably, health care plans and policies administered through CalPERS (the California Public Employees’ Retirement System) are not subject to the requirements of SB 729 until July 1, 2027.

Key Provisions

Under SB 729, “infertility” is defined broadly and inclusively. A person is considered infertile if a licensed physician makes that determination based on the individual’s medical, sexual, or reproductive history, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors. Infertility may also be established by a person’s inability to reproduce, either individually or with a partner, without medical assistance. In addition, infertility includes the failure to achieve or carry a pregnancy to live birth after a period of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse—defined as 12 months for individuals under age 35, or six months for individuals 35 and older. A miscarriage does not reset that time period.

Starting July 1, 2025, large group plans and policies must include coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility services. This coverage must include up to three completed oocyte retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers, as long as treatment follows the clinical guidelines of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (“ASRM”). Single embryo transfer should be used when recommended and medically appropriate. Small group plans and policies, while not required to include this coverage, must at least offer it.

The legislation also prohibits health plans and insurers from imposing discriminatory limitations or exclusions. Fertility medications must be covered on the same terms as other prescription medications. Plans may not deny coverage based on the use of donor sperm, donor eggs, gestational carriers, or surrogates. Nor may they impose different co-pays, deductibles, benefit caps, or waiting periods specifically for fertility services compared to other medical services.

Importantly, SB 729 includes strong anti-discrimination provisions. Coverage must be provided without regard to an individual’s age, race, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or domestic partner status, national origin, religion, disability, or other protected characteristics. The law emphasizes that these provisions should not interfere with a physician’s clinical judgment in determining appropriate treatment.

3. New Workplace Protections for Household Workers (SB 1350)

California Senate Bill 1350 extends vital occupational safety protections to household domestic workers, such as housecleaners, childcare providers, gardeners, cooks, and handymen, when they are employed by businesses rather than individuals. Effective July 1, 2025, employers who hire domestic workers on a temporary or permanent basis—including through agencies or as part of home‑services businesses—will be subject to Cal/OSHA’s safety and health requirements.

Business ventures such as housecleaning services, homecare and landscaping shall be subject to Cal/OSHA’s requirements. However, the law does not apply to private households that utilize workers for common home tasks such as cleaning and cooking. This law also does not apply to domestic workers in family daycare as well as those in publicly funded programs.

As of July 1, 2025, employers covered under SB 1350, must do the following:

• Maintain a written IIPP tailored to domestic work environments
• Conduct regular safety inspections.
• Safety training is also required in the language the worker understands.
• Additionally such employers must also supply personal protective equipment and ensure the domestic workers have ready access to safe tools.
• Safety records must also be maintained as required under Cal/OSHA.

4. Official CRD Notice Effective July 1, 2025

The Civil Right Department (“CRD”) has officially published the document found here: https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2025/07/Survivors-Right-to-Time-Off_English-B.pdf and fulfills a legal requirement under existing California law that provides workplace protections and leave rights for survivors of violence and for family members of victims. While the rights outlined in the notice have already been in effect since January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill 2499 required the CRD to issue this official notice no later than July 1, 2025. That requirement has now been met, and the document is intended to inform both employees and employers of these important protections.

The notice must be distributed by employers to employees in several ways:

• Upon hiring
• Upon request, annually
• Any time an employee (or their family member) reports that they are a victim of violence.

This ensures that workers are aware of their rights to take time off and to request safety-related accommodations without fear of retaliation or job loss.