California workers stand to benefit from a series of new laws in 2018. They include making it illegal to ask a job applicant for their salary history and requiring companies with as few as 20 employees to offer 12-weeks of unpaid family leave, down from the current 50.
Employers will also be prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal records until a conditional job offer has been made. California's minimum wage is also going up by 50-cents-an-hour to $10.50 for employers with 25 or fewer workers and to $11 for companies with 26 or more.
A law passed in 2016 increases the minimum wage in annual steps, reaching $15 by 2022 for larger companies and by 2023 for companies with 25 or fewer workers.