Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Every January, new California employment laws take effect and 2026 is no different, bringing changes to employment contracts, pay data reporting, paid family leave, and other employment-related topics. The following list highlights five new California employment laws for employers to be aware of in the year ahead.

Virginia joined the list of states limiting employers’ ability to include confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in employment agreements for matters related to sexual harassment.  But the law’s scope seems limited, and does not appear to apply to post-employment severance agreements.

Restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements are increasingly under attack, this time by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Companies rely on these restrictions to protect investment in intellectual property, technology and employees. On January 9, the FTC suggested that employee freedom of mobility trumps all of these legitimate business reasons companies use restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements. The FTC has increased its attention to restrictive covenants, and non-compete agreements in particular, under the theory that these types of provisions ...