New California employment statutes include significant changes that will reshape employment agreements, pay equity compliance, notice practices, data governance, and leave administration. Below we summarize the statutes most likely to affect multi-state and California employers beginning January 1, 2026, highlight near-term implementation steps, and flag forward-looking changes coming in 2027 and beyond.

On December 18, 2025, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act (HFIAA) was signed into law. The HFIAA amends Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require directors and executive officers of foreign private issuers with a class of equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act to comply with the same insider reporting rules that apply to U.S. domestic issuers. Beginning in March 2026, covered FPI insiders must publicly disclose their equity ownership and transactions on the same forms used by U.S. issuers—Forms 3, 4, and 5.