California wildfires - FAQs on laws enforced by the Labor Commissioner's Office

Summary

California wildfires - FAQs on laws enforced by the Labor Commissioner's Office

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Labor Commissioner's Office
Workers' Rights During Wildfire Cleanup and Rebuilding
Workers doing wildfire cleanup and rebuilding are protected by California's labor laws.
Minimum wage, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, protection from retaliation and misclassification are some of your labor rights.
On this page:
Worker Rights during Emergencies
Wildfire Cleanup and Rebuilding Labor Rights
Also see:
Public Works – Wildfire Cleanup and Rebuilding
Worker Rights During Emergencies
Do  workers have rights during emergency conditions?
Workers have special rights during emergency  conditions. It is illegal for employers to require workers to report to or  prevent workers from leaving an affected work area if they reasonably believe  it is unsafe. Employers cannot prevent workers from using their phones to  access emergency assistance, assess the safety of a situation, or to confirm  the safety of others. These protections continue until the emergency  condition ends. Some workers are exempt, including first responders and  disaster service workers. Please see
Labor  Code section 1139
for complete details. Please also see Cal/OSHA
Worker  Health and Safety in Wildfire Regions
website.
Labor  Code section 1139
does not require time off to be paid, although employees  may be able to use available vacation or other paid leave under their employer's  regular policies or practices. Notwithstanding,
Labor  Code section 246.5
provides that “agricultural employees,” as defined in
Labor  Code section 9110
, who work outside and are entitled to paid sick days can  use paid sick leave “to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a  local or state emergency, including, but not limited to, when the employee's  worksite is closed due to the smoke, heat, or flooding conditions.”
Avoiding hazardous conditions like wildfire smoke might also  constitute “care” of an existing health condition or “preventative care” under
Labor  Code section 246.5
, entitling employees to use paid sick leave. You can  learn more about paid sick leave
here
. You may also  wish to explore the use of CA State Disability Insurance to care for yourself  or a family member.  More information is  provided below.
If you are discharged, discriminated against, retaliated  against, or otherwise subjected to adverse action for exercising your rights  under the Labor Code, you can
file a  retaliation complaint
with the Labor Commissioner.
Am I able to access CA State Disability  Insurance (DI) if I can't work?
Workers who have experienced a loss of wages or can't work  due to a serious illness or injury may visit
EDD's website
for more  information about the Disability Insurance program. This program requires a  worker's medical provider to certify their claim for  benefits.
In addition, Disability Insurance (DI) provides partial wage  replacement benefits to eligible California workers who are unable to work due  to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy. If you were injured by the  disaster, you may be eligible for DI benefits. You may also qualify for a  non-work-related illness or injury caused by the wildfire, such as: stress,  burn injuries, or smoke inhalation; as certified by a physician/practitioner.
Furthermore, if High Air Quality Index (AQI) and/or smoke  exposure presents a health risk to you and/or a baby during pregnancy you may  be eligible for DI. Specifically, healthcare providers may certify a patient as  disabled for disability benefits if the patient's job requirements pose a  danger to the health of a pregnant patient or the fetus. If your  physician/practitioner finds that it is not medically safe for you to perform  your normal and usual work, you can
apply  for disability
.
If I have to  leave work to care for a sick family member due to the fires, what other  benefits are available?
Paid  Family Leave (PFL)
provides benefits if you lose wages when you need to  take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law,  grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner. If  you need to care for a family member injured in the disaster, you may be  eligible for PFL benefits.
A serious health condition means an illness, injury,  impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a  hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, or at home. This  includes any period of incapacity (e.g., inability to work, attend school, or  perform other regular daily activities) or any subsequent treatment in  connection with such inpatient care, or continuing treatment by a physician or  practitioner.
Can employers  require employees to work in areas under mandatory evacuation orders?
It is unlawful to direct an employee to enter or remain in  an area subject to mandatory evacuation due to fires.
Requiring employees to work in areas under mandatory  evacuation orders may violate the Government and Penal Codes, in addition to  the Labor Code.
Labor  Code section 1102.5
protects employees from retaliation for refusing to  participate in activity that would result in violation of a state or federal  statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal  rule or regulation.
Labor  Code section 6311
also protects employees for refusing to perform work that  would violate the Labor Code, including
Labor  Code section 6400
, any occupational safety or health standard, or any  safety order of the division or standards board, if the violation would create  a real and apparent hazard to employees.
Relatedly,
Labor  Code section 6311.5
prohibits a person from willfully and knowingly  directing employees to remain in or enter areas closed due to a menace to the  public health or safety created by a calamity including a flood, storm, fire,  earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster as set forth in
Penal  Code section 409.5
, after receiving notice to evacuate or leave, with some  exceptions. Please see
Labor  Code section 6311.5
and
Penal  Code section 409.5
for complete details. Again, if you are discharged,  discriminated against, retaliated against, or otherwise subjected to adverse  action for exercising your rights under the Labor Code, you can
file a  retaliation complaint
with the Labor Commissioner. Employers and workers  may wish to view Cal/OSHA's
Worker  Safety and Health in Wildfire Regions
website,
Are employees  entitled to compensation for work interruptions caused by power outages or  wildfires?
Employees must be compensated for all hours worked, including  all time employees are under their employer's control, even if they are not  working. “Hours worked” includes both all time employees are suffered or  permitted to work, whether or not required to do so, and all time during which  employees are subject to the control of their employer. Restricting employees  to the employer's premises, or a worksite, means employees are subject to their  employer's control so as to constitute “hours worked.” (See
Morillion  v. Royal Packing Co. (2000) 22 Cal.4th 575
;
Bono  Enterprises v. Bradshaw
(1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 968
.) Under such  circumstances, the employees must be paid their regular rate of compensation  (which cannot be less than the minimum wage) and overtime, if applicable.
If an employer facing a power outage requires employees to  remain on the premises and wait for the power to return so as to promptly  resume operations once power is restored, the time during which the employees  are restricted to the premises constitutes compensable “hours worked,” and the  employees must be paid their regular rate of compensation for all such  time. If the employer instead allows employees to leave the premises but  significantly restricts their movement, the employees must be paid for all that  time too, being compensable “standby” time.
Employees may be entitled to
split shift
premiums  if an employer facing power outages sends them away from the premises with  instructions to return at a later time during that same workday. The Wage  Orders define a “split shift” as “a work schedule, which is interrupted by  non-paid non-working periods established by the employer, other than bona fide  rest or meal periods,”  and provide that  “when an employee works a  split shift, one hour's pay at the minimum wage shall be paid in addition to  the minimum wage for that workday, except when the employee resides at the  place of employment.
If an employee  is exempt, are they entitled to a full week's salary for work interruptions  caused by power outages or wildfires?
An exempt employee is entitled to recover wages for the full  week if that employee is suffered or permitted to work anytime within that  workweek. (See discussion at
Section  51.6.15 of the Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual
.)
Is an employee  entitled to additional compensation for disruptions caused by power outages or  wildfires when the employee's work schedule is subject to a bonafide  Alternative Workweek (AWW) arrangement?
If an employer facing a power outage is on an AWW, and the  employer sends its workers home during a regularly scheduled workday, with  instructions that the workers come in and work later in the week to make up  their lost hours on a day that is not a regularly scheduled workday, the first  8 hours worked on the non-regularly scheduled workday must be paid at time and  a half, and all hours worked in excess of 8 hours on the non-regularly  scheduled day must be paid at twice the regular rate.
However, if an employer on an AWW anticipates that it can  reduce its exposure to power outages by
occasionally
shifting  the scheduled days (say from a 4/10 Mon-Thurs to a 4/10 Thurs-Sun), and gives  its workers at least a week's notice of the schedule change, the AWW remains  valid. For enforcement purposes, the Labor Commissioner will allow an employer  to shift schedules up to 4 times in a year.  More frequent changes will  invalidate the AWW.
Is an employee entitled to be paid for  leave caused by power outages or wildfires?
If there is a vacation or paid time off policy, an employee  may choose to take such leave and be compensated provided that the terms of the  vacation or paid time off policy provides for such leave.
Paid sick leave may apply if the employee is qualified to  receive such leave and requests to take leave for a sick reason. The paid sick  leave law provides that an employer
shall provide paid sick days for the  following purposes:
(1) Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee's family member.
(2) For an employee who is a victim or whose family member is a victim, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 12945.8 of the Government Code, the        purposes described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), or subdivision        (b), of Section 12945.8 of the Government Code.
(3) For an employee who is an agricultural employee, as defined in Section 9110, who works outside and who is entitled to paid sick days under this article,        to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state        emergency, including, but not limited to, when the employee's worksite is        closed due to the smoke, heat, or flooding conditions. There are smoke,        heat, or flood conditions created by a local or state emergency if the        Governor proclaims a state of emergency pursuant to Section 8625 of the        Government Code, or a local emergency is proclaimed pursuant to Section        8630 of the Government Code, due to smoke, heat, or flooding conditions        that prevent agricultural employees from working.
(Lab. Code § 246.5, subd.  (a).)
If the employee qualifies for sick leave and requests sick  leave, the employer must provide such leave and must compensate the employee  under
California  Paid Sick Leave laws.
The employee may also be  eligible for CA State Disability Insurance depending as described above,
Employees and employers may also  wish to consider eligibility for
Family,  Medical, and Pregnancy Disability Leave for Employees in California | CRD
(CFRA) or for federal  government workers,
Family  and Medical Leave Act | U.S. Department of Labor
(FMLA).
What are  relevant retaliation considerations?
Labor  Code section 98.6
protects an employee from retaliation for filing a bona  fide complaint or claim or instituting or causing to be instituted any  proceeding under or relating to their rights under the jurisdiction of the  Labor Commissioner, making a written or oral complaint they are owed unpaid  wages, exercising on behalf of themselves or others any rights afforded them  under the Labor Code, and more.
Labor  Code section 98.6
provides a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation  if an employer engages in any action prohibited by this section within 90 days  of the protected activity specified in this section. In addition to other  remedies that might be available,
Labor  Code section 98.6
provides a penalty of up to $10,000 per employee for each  violation to be awarded to each employee who suffered the violation. If you are  discharged, discriminated against, retaliated against, or otherwise subjected  to adverse action for exercising your rights under the Labor Code, you can
file a  retaliation complaint
with the Labor Commissioner.
Are there  protections for employees taking time off to perform emergency duty as a  volunteer firefighter, a reserve peace officer, or emergency rescue personnel?
Labor  Code section 230.3
protects employees from retaliation for taking time off  to perform emergency duty as a volunteer firefighter, a reserve peace officer,  or emergency rescue personnel. This protection does not apply to any public  safety agency or provider of emergency medical services if, as determined by  the employer, the employee's absence would hinder the availability of public  safety or emergency medical services. Employees who are health care providers  must notify their employer when they become designated as emergency rescue  personnel and when they are notified that they will be deployed because of that  designation. Please see
Labor  Code section 230.3
for complete details.
Other  information about California wildfires and the laws enforced by the Department  of Industrial Relations.
Wildfire smoke and cleanup presents hazards that employers  and workers in affected regions must understand. Smoke from wildfires contains chemicals,  gases and fine particles that can harm health. Hazards continue even after  fires have been extinguished and cleanup work begins. Proper protective  equipment and training is required for worker safety in wildfire regions.
Power outages can also present electrical and other hazards  for workers. Proper installation and use of generators can prevent  electrocution hazards. Workers must also be aware of the potential of  electrocution or being injured by moving parts of machinery and other equipment  when power is restored. Workers can also face health hazards from working  without electricity in unventilated areas because ventilation systems are not  working.
For more information visit
Worker  Safety and Health in Wildfire Regions
.
Wildfire Cleanup and Rebuilding Labor Rights
What are labor rights for workers while performing wildfire cleanup and rebuilding?
Labor laws in California protect all workers, regardless of immigration status. When working on wildfire cleanup and rebuilding, your rights include:
Legal
pay for all hours worked
. Hourly compensation must be at least the state or local minimum wage, whichever is higher. Some cities and counties have a higher minimum wage than the state's rate. Workers on public works projects also have a higher minimum wage known as prevailing wage.
California state minimum wage
Prevailing wage for public works
Los Angeles County minimum wage
Los Angeles City minimum wage
Malibu minimum wage
Pay for rest breaks, and encouraged to take unpaid meal breaks according to the law.
Rest breaks:
paid 10-minute break every four hours. Paid rest breaks as needed to cool-off and prevent heat illness.
Meal periods:
unpaid 30-minute break every 5 hours.
Overtime pay.
Most workers are paid an hourly wage and have the right to overtime pay after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek.
Paid sick leave
accrued according to the law. Most workers earn at least 40 hours or five days per year.
If you are  not paid according to the law, that's wage theft. Document your pay and work  information, then contact the Labor Commissioner's Office to learn about your  rights and
how to  file a wage claim
.
Is my job protected when exercising my labor rights?
Yes, your job is protected when exercising your labor  rights.
It is illegal for employers to retaliate against workers for  exercising their labor rights
. Retaliation can include changes in your pay,  schedule, employment status and immigration-related threats.
Employers are responsible for training workers, providing  proper tools and safety equipment, and following Cal/OSHA requirements to  prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. Workers have the right to refuse to  work in unsafe conditions. Read about
special rights during  emergencies
.
Whistleblowers are protected. If you file a  complaint about unsafe work conditions with Cal/OSHA, you are
protected by retaliation laws
.
My employer says I am an independent contractor, how do I verify?
Some workers are incorrectly classified as independent  contractors instead of employees. Read more about
how to  identify misclassification of independent contractor versus employee
.
What should I do if I have not been paid properly?
Contact the Labor Commissioner's Office to learn about your rights and the wage claim process. To protect yourself at work, always document and keep records to assist you when filing a claim.
Document:
Days and hours you worked with the rate of pay, meal and rest breaks.
The address where you worked each day
For construction workers: take a picture of general contractor banner at the worksite. Keep track of any tools or expenses you bought for the job. In most cases, the general contractor is responsible for paying you if the subcontractor failed to pay.
Learn how to file a wage claim
For wage theft affecting a group of workers,
Report a Labor Law Violation
.
For construction workers,
read about  Mechanic's Lien rights for unpaid work
. Mechanic's liens have very short  deadlines and cannot be determined through the Labor Commissioner's wage claim  process. In some cases, the Labor Commissioner may be able to assist you with  mechanic's liens if you make the Labor Commissioner aware of the issue when you  first file your claim.
More Resources
Cal/OSHA workplace safety and health requirements
Injured on the job?
Learn about workers' compensation benefits
Look  up the CSLB license of your employer
For employers:
Public works and prevailing wage
Public Works wildfire cleanup  and rebuilding
Right to Recall for hospitality and other employers
July 2025

Retrieval chunks

• #1

  Labor Commissioner's Office Workers' Rights During Wildfire Cleanup and Rebuilding Workers doing wildfire cleanup and rebuilding are protected by California's labor laws. Minimum wage, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, protection from retaliation and misclassification are some of your labor rights. On this page:…

• #2

  Am I able to access CA State Disability Insurance (DI) if I can't work? Workers who have experienced a loss of wages or can't work due to a serious illness or injury may visit EDD's website for more information about the Disability Insurance program. This program requires a worker's medical provider to certify …

• #3

  Requiring employees to work in areas under mandatory evacuation orders may violate the Government and Penal Codes, in addition to the Labor Code. Labor Code section 1102.5 protects employees from retaliation for refusing to participate in activity that would result in violation of a state or federal statute, or…

• #4

  If an employer facing a power outage requires employees to remain on the premises and wait for the power to return so as to promptly resume operations once power is restored, the time during which the employees are restricted to the premises constitutes compensable “hours worked,” and the employees must be paid th…

• #5

  shifting the scheduled days (say from a 4/10 Mon-Thurs to a 4/10 Thurs-Sun), and gives its workers at least a week's notice of the schedule change, the AWW remains valid. For enforcement purposes, the Labor Commissioner will allow an employer to shift schedules up to 4 times in a year.  More frequent changes will …

• #6

  Family, Medical, and Pregnancy Disability Leave for Employees in California | CRD (CFRA) or for federal government workers, Family and Medical Leave Act | U.S. Department of Labor (FMLA). What are relevant retaliation considerations? Labor Code section 98.6 protects an employee from retaliation for filing a…

• #7

  Wildfire smoke and cleanup presents hazards that employers and workers in affected regions must understand. Smoke from wildfires contains chemicals, gases and fine particles that can harm health. Hazards continue even after fires have been extinguished and cleanup work begins. Proper protective equipment and train…

• #8

  It is illegal for employers to retaliate against workers for exercising their labor rights . Retaliation can include changes in your pay, schedule, employment status and immigration-related threats. Employers are responsible for training workers, providing proper tools and safety equipment, and following Cal/OSHA…