Publications

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, but California employers have an earlier deadline: Saturday, October 24, 2026, to post the required voting leave notice. Employers should ensure their managers, supervisors and Human Resources teams understand the eligibility, scheduling, and pay requirements for voting leave.

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Hotel operators with contracts expiring in 2027 should start preparing now, because the leverage in a bargaining cycle is usually built long before the first session. Operators who treat bargaining as a year-round discipline, rather than a seasonal event, are generally positioned to negotiate from a stronger position.

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On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 951, which amended the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN). The amendment takes effect on January 1, 2027, one year after SB 617, which also expanded the requirements for Cal-WARN notices.

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The hot topic in just about every field of endeavor these days is the degree to which Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) will affect it. But even before the explosion of AI in the workplace, employers have been using automated systems to assist in making employment decisions, especially at the hiring level. Employers and employees have both long been using systems like Indeed and Zip Recruiter, which have computer algorithms designed to match open positions with qualified candidates. These algorithms are hardly infallible, and it is almost certain that many candidates are passed over for reasons that have more to do with glitches in the algorithms than the qualifications of the candidates.

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Hotel employers operating in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County should ensure they are complying with the County’s Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (“HWPO”), which took effect on April 1, 2026, and has compliance deadlines approaching on October 1, 2026. The ordinance establishes new workplace safety protections, housekeeping workload restrictions, record keeping obligations, and other requirements for covered hotels.

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On September 1, 2026, California concluded its 2026 legislative session, sending several employment-related bills to Governor Gavin Newsom for consideration, some of which have already been signed. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the remaining measures.

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NLRB General Counsel Crystal Carey has issued GC Memo 26‑04, providing employers with the clearest statement to date of the Board precedents she is actively challenging and those she intends to challenge when the right case arises. While the memo does not change current law, it provides employers with a clear preview of the doctrines likely to be tested in upcoming litigation.

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On August 7, 2026, Illinois enacted the Illinois Menopause Equity and Care Act, which amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to provide workplace accommodations and prohibit discrimination based on menopause-related conditions starting January 1, 2027.

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Hotels are entering a new phase of union activity—one defined not only by traditional bargaining cycles, but by property access fights, coordinated grievances, and escalating picketing designed to force concessions before negotiations even begin. Q4 is historically a particularly vulnerable period for operators: peak group business, holiday travel, and compressed staffing. Unions know this, and they are positioning their efforts around these operational pressure points.

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Stokes Wagner is strengthening its national Labor Relations practice, building on decades of experience representing hospitality employers in complex labor matters. As part of this effort, the firm is expanding the team dedicated to labor relations, broadening its capabilities in labor-focused due diligence and workforce strategy, and increasing its capacity to support clients with complex collective bargaining and multi-property labor matters.

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