California — Hiring & Onboarding

All U.S. employers, including those in California, must complete Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) for every individual hired for employment in the United States after November 6, 1986. This requirement applies to all employees, including both U.S. citizens and noncitizens. The employee must complete Section 1 by their first day of work, attesting under penalty of perjury to their employment authorization.

Section 2 timing — three business days from start of work: The employer is responsible for reviewing acceptable documents (establishing both identity and employment authorization), recording document data in Section 2, and attesting that the documents reasonably appear genuine and relate to the employee. Section 2 of Form I-9 must be completed and signed by the employer within three business days of the employee's first day of employment. If employment will last less than three business days, Section 2 must be completed no later than the first day of employment. These timing requirements are enforceable under federal law: late completion is a substantive compliance violation (8 U.S.C. § 1324a(b)(1)(A); see also USCIS Form I-9 Instructions, "Completing Section 2").

Edition and retention requirements:

• Employers must retain completed I-9 forms for three years after the hire date or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
• The current Form I-9 edition (edition date 08/01/23, with an expiration date of 07/31/2026) is acceptable through July 31, 2026. Beginning August 1, 2026, only the revised edition bearing an expiration date of 05/31/2027 may be used for new hires. Use of non-current forms outside the grace period is a substantive compliance violation.

These requirements are governed by federal statute and regulation, and are enforced regardless of California-specific policies. For complete details and current forms, consult the USCIS website below.

Source: 8 U.S.C. § 1324a; USCIS Form I-9 Instructions; USCIS Form Updates

California Labor Code § 2810.5 requires employers to provide each nonexempt employee with a written wage notice at the time of hiring. The requirement took effect January 1, 2012, as part of the Wage Theft Protection Act (AB 469, Chapter 655, Statutes of 2011). The notice must be provided in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the employee.

Required notice content

The written notice must contain the following information under subsection (a)(1):

• Rate(s) of pay and basis thereof — whether paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or otherwise, including any rates for overtime as applicable (subsection (a)(1)(A)). If multiple pay rates apply, all applicable rates must be listed.
• Allowances claimed — any meal or lodging allowances the employer claims as part of the minimum wage (subsection (a)(1)(B)).
• Regular payday — the payday designated by the employer in accordance with California law (subsection (a)(1)(C)).
• Employer name — including any "doing business as" (DBA) names used by the employer (subsection (a)(1)(D)).
• Physical address — the employer's main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address if different (subsection (a)(1)(E)).
• Telephone number — of the employer (subsection (a)(1)(F)).
• Workers' compensation carrier — the name, address, and telephone number of the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier (subsection (a)(1)(G)).
• Paid sick leave information — information about the employee's rights to accrue and use paid sick leave under state law (subsection (a)(1)(H)).
• Emergency or disaster declarations — information about any state or federal emergency or disaster declaration applicable to the county or counties where the employee will work, issued within 30 days before the employee's first day of employment, that may affect the employee's health and safety during employment (subsection (a)(1)(I), added effective January 1, 2024, by AB 636).

Additional requirements for specific employers

Temporary services employers (as defined in Cal. Lab. Code § 201.3) must also include in the notice the name, physical address, mailing address, and telephone number of the legal entity for whom the employee will perform work (subsection (a)(3)). Security services companies licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs that solely provide security services are exempt from this requirement.

Employers of H-2A agricultural visa workers must provide a supplemental notice in Spanish containing a separate and distinct section describing an agricultural employee's additional rights and protections under California law and regulations. This includes information on the H-2A program wage rate required during the contract period, overtime wage rates, frequency of pay, piece-rate pay, rest and meal periods, transportation and travel-time compensation, employee housing rights, anti-retaliation protections, wage statement contents, sexual harassment prohibitions, and availability of toilets, potable water, and handwashing facilities (subsection (a)(4)(A)).

Timing and format

The statute requires the notice "at the time of hiring." The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement FAQ interprets this as no later than the employee's start date of work. The Labor Commissioner provides template notices that employers may use; templates are available in English, Spanish, and multiple other languages at the DIR website. According to the DLSE FAQ, the required notice under § 2810.5 "must be on its own form" and "[e]mployees should not be required to piece together the information from several separate documents or pages of a manual."

Update requirement

If any information on the notice changes, the employer must notify the employee in writing within seven calendar days after the change, unless one of two exceptions applies: (1) all changes are reflected on a timely wage statement furnished under Labor Code § 226, or (2) notice of all changes is provided in another writing required by law within seven days (subsection (b)).

Exemptions

The notice requirement does not apply to:

• Employees directly employed by the state or any political subdivision (city, county, city and county, or special district).
• Employees who are exempt from the payment of overtime wages by statute or Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders.
• Employees covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for wages, hours, and working conditions and meets certain premium-wage requirements (subsection (c)).

Enforcement

Section 2810.5 does not impose an independent civil penalty for noncompliance, but failure to provide the required notice or timely updates may be enforced through wage claim proceedings before the Labor Commissioner and through Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions, as the notice requirement is a Labor Code provision affecting wage transparency and enforcement. Affected employees may file claims with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 2810.5; DIR Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011 — Notice to Employees FAQ

Before obtaining an investigative consumer report (ICR) for employment in California, the employer (or other user as defined in §1786.12) must meet all of the following steps. These steps all come from Civil Code § 1786.16, as published by the California Legislature:

1. Clear-written, standalone disclosure – delivered in advance

You must give the job applicant a clear and conspicuous disclosure in writing, before ordering the report. That disclosure must appear in a document consisting solely of that disclosure (no other text from your job application).

1. What that disclosure must say – required contents

The disclosure must include all of these items: • A statement that an investigative consumer report may be obtained. • The permissible purpose (i.e. employment) for which the report is sought. • A note that the report may include information on the person’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living. • The name, address, and telephone number of the investigative consumer reporting agency that will do the investigation. • A description of the nature and scope of the investigation requested. • A summary of the consumer’s rights under § 1786.22 (e.g. right to file requests or inspect in‑agency files). • Finally, you must include the vendor’s website where the applicant can review its privacy practices (including notice whether data may leave the U.S.), or—if there is no website—provide its telephone number instead. That vendor‑privacy clause has been in force since January 1, 2012.

1. Written authorization – signed by the consumer

The applicant must authorize in writing the procurement of the report. That consent must follow the disclosure in the standalone document.

1. Exception – employer‑suspected misconduct

If the ICR is sought based solely on suspicion of wrongdoing or misconduct by a current employee, then none of the above disclosure or authorization requirements apply.

Why it matters This is one of the most common compliance failures in California background screening. You cannot combine the ICR disclosure or consent into a general employment‑application form. Instead, you need a clearly labeled, single‑subject document that the applicant signs or initials, containing the full required text. Missing any piece—like omitting the vendor phone number, or combining it with other hiring documents—can lead to statutory liability.

Source: Civil Code § 1786.16, as enacted and operative since January 1 2011. (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Every California employer must report a newly hired or rehired employee to the New Employee Registry (NER) maintained by the Employment Development Department (EDD).

Deadline You must submit the new-hire report no later than 20 calendar days after the employee’s start-of-work date—that is, their first day performing services for wages under your payroll. If you submit electronically via e-Services for Business, you may instead submit in two monthly batches, spaced 12 to 16 days apart, instead of reporting each hire separately.

What information must be reported Report employer details:

• EDD-issued eight-digit payroll tax account number
• Branch Code (if assigned)
• Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
• Legal business name and address
• Contact person name and phone number

Report employee details:

• First name, middle initial, and last name
• Social Security number (SSN)
• Home address
• Start-of-work date

These requirements apply to both newly hired and rehired employees (if the employee was separated from your payroll for at least 60 consecutive days).

How to file

• Online through e-Services for Business: submit a Report of New Employee(s) using Form DE 34 (fastest method).
• By mail or fax: send a completed DE 34, or a W-4 or DE 4 containing all required information, to:

Employment Development Department PO Box 997016, MIC 96 West Sacramento, CA 95799-7016 Fax: 1-916-319-4400

Penalties for non-compliance If you fail to report on time (without good cause), the EDD may assess $24 per unreported employee. If the failure was due to a deliberate agreement between employer and employee to hide or falsify reporting, the penalty is $490 per employee.

Source: EDD New Employee Registry Source: EDD New Hire Reporting FAQ