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Work

Wage orders, workplace safety standards and the enforcement machinery behind them, read for the person covered rather than the person complying.

Employment obligations in California sit in three separate instruments that are easy to confuse: the Labor Code, the Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders, and Title 8 of the Code of Regulations. A wage floor is statutory and self-executing; a safety duty is regulatory and enforced by inspection; an exemption threshold is arithmetic derived from the first. These pages keep the three apart, because the remedy differs in each case.

October 10, 2026 edition · Developments from September 25 to October 10

Latest record

Fee schedules updated · Source published October 7, 2026 · Event 2026-10-02 through 2026-10-07 · Effective from October 1, 2026

California updates three workers’ compensation fee-schedule components

The notices were published October 2, 5 and 7 for services beginning October 1.

California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation issued fourth-quarter updates covering physician and nonphysician practitioner services, durable medical equipment and related supplies, and hospital outpatient and ambulatory-surgery services. The notices identify October 1 as the applicable service-date boundary.

Billing teams should use the California administrative order and the incorporated files for the relevant component. A CMS file update does not by itself establish the amount payable under every California workers’ compensation claim. Keep the physician schedule, DMEPOS schedule and facility schedule distinct, and check the service date before applying a revised file.

Sources: DWC: Physician fee schedule update; DWC: DMEPOS fee schedule update; DWC: Hospital outpatient and ASC schedule update

Settlement announced · Source published October 1, 2026 · Event October 1, 2026

California announces a $272.5 million Lyft settlement

The agreement resolves historical driver-classification allegations.

California’s Labor Commissioner and enforcement partners announced an agreement October 1 under which Lyft will pay $272.5 million, plus accrued interest, to resolve allegations concerning past driver classification. The state says 87% of the settlement will go directly to drivers, with additional treatment for certain drivers who filed wage claims.

The agreement should not be described as a ruling that resolves every present-day gig-worker classification question. Eligibility, covered periods, administration and distribution depend on the settlement record and official notices. Drivers should use those notices before assuming a payment amount or paying someone to pursue a claim.

Sources: Labor Commissioner: Lyft settlement

Also in this edition

• October’s heat reminder reinforces workplace protectionsThe weather advisory was time-limited; prevention duties continue. Dated alert with continuing guidance

Earlier editions and archived status

Pages

SERVICE GUIDECalifornia · Central Valley

California’s minimum wage goes to $17.40 on 1 January 2027 — and it moves four other numbers with it

The Director of Finance certified the 2027 rate on 31 July 2026. The hourly figure is the smallest of the changes it sets off: the exempt salary floor, the industry rates and the posting duty all move with it.

SERVICE GUIDECentral Valley · California

Water, shade, and a room below 82°F: what California’s two heat standards actually require

California runs an outdoor heat standard and an indoor one, with different triggers and different duties. In a county that spends much of the summer above 100°F, the difference between them decides what an employer owes you.

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