GUIDES

California employment law in the AI era

Short, plain-English guides for AI companies, founders, and tech workers. Each one starts with the answer.

• AI layoffs in California: what the WARN Act requiresWhen a California employer must give 60 days notice before a layoff, what the notice must say in 2026, and the new AI disclosure that starts January 1, 2027.
• Noncompetes in California: what AI companies and tech workers need to knowWhy almost every employee noncompete is void in California, the 2024 laws that let workers sue over them, the three exceptions, and the stay-or-pay rules coming in 2027.
• Founders and early employees leaving a California startup: the employment lawWhat California employment law says when a founder or early employee leaves a startup: final pay, noncompetes, who owns side inventions, and where equity fits.
• Severance agreements in California: the rules both sides must followCalifornia severance rules: no duty to pay severance, the five business day review period, required nondisparagement language, and the extra rules for workers 40 and older.
• AI in hiring and firing: California rules for 2026 and 2027How California law treats AI tools that screen, rank, discipline, or fire workers: the Civil Rights Council rules now in force, privacy rules in 2027, and the No Robo Bosses Act.

Updated November 14, 2026. By Ian Corzine, California lawyer.

General information about California law, not legal advice. Reading these guides does not make me your lawyer. See the Website & Privacy Terms.

Ian Corzine · California lawyer · San Francisco