California technical recruiting and hiring rules
California holds two of the largest defense markets in the country.
San Diego has the Navy's principal Pacific homeport and its information warfare commands, the Marine Corps installations from Camp Pendleton to Miramar, General Atomics and Qualcomm; Los Angeles has Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base and Armstrong Flight Research Center, Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale and the launch companies of Long Beach and Hawthorne. Requisitions run from Secret for shipbuilding and aircraft programs to TS/SCI for space and intelligence work.
California regulates the posting stage closely and bans non-competes outright. The rules below are current at the time of writing, each with its source.
Hiring rules in California that matter to employers
Summaries are general information current at the time of writing and are no substitute for counsel.
- Pay transparency in job postings
- Labor Code Section 432.3(c)(3) provides that an employer with 15 or more employees shall include the pay scale for a position in any job posting, a requirement added by Senate Bill 1162 and in force since January 1, 2023. Section 432.3(c)(1) requires any employer, on reasonable request, to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant.
- Salary history
- Section 432.3(a) and (b) provide that an employer shall not rely on an applicant's salary history as a factor in deciding whether to offer employment, and shall not, orally or in writing, personally or through an agent, seek salary history information, including compensation and benefits.
- Fair-chance hiring
- The Fair Chance Act, Government Code Section 12952, in effect since January 1, 2018, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer with five or more employees to include on any application, before a conditional offer, any question that seeks disclosure of conviction history, and requires an employer that intends to deny a position because of conviction history to make an individualized assessment of whether the history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job.
- Non-compete agreements
- Business and Professions Code Section 16600.1 makes it unlawful to include a non-compete clause in an employment contract, or to require an employee to enter a non-compete agreement, that does not satisfy an exception in the chapter, and it required employers to notify affected current and former employees by February 14, 2024 that such clauses are void. Section 16600.5 provides that a contract void under the chapter is unenforceable regardless of where and when it was signed, bars employers from attempting to enforce or enter into such contracts, and gives employees a private right of action for injunctive relief, damages and attorney's fees.
- At-will employment
- Labor Code Section 2922 provides that an employment having no specified term may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other, and the Employment Development Department notes the resulting presumption that employment is at will.
- Background checks
- Under the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, Civil Code Section 1786.16, an employer that procures an investigative consumer report for employment must give the applicant a clear and conspicuous written disclosure in a document consisting solely of the disclosure, identifying the reporting agency, must obtain the applicant's written authorization, and must offer a box the applicant can check to receive a copy of the report.
Metro markets in California
Each metro page names the installations, agencies and employers that shape hiring there.
-
San Diego, CA
The Navy's principal Pacific homeport, its information warfare commands, Camp Pendleton, Miramar, General Atomics and Qualcomm.
-
Los Angeles, CA
Space Systems Command in El Segundo, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base and Armstrong, Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, and the launch companies of Long Beach and Hawthorne.
Industries hiring in California
Specialties in demand in California
Questions about hiring in California
Can a California defense contractor use a non-compete with a cleared engineer?
No. Section 16600.1 makes it unlawful to include a non-compete clause in an employment contract or to require an employee to sign one, and Section 16600.5 makes such a contract unenforceable regardless of where it was signed. Employers rely on confidentiality agreements, trade secret law and the security rules of the program instead.
How does the Fair Chance Act interact with a clearance requirement?
The Act governs the employer's own application and hiring process: no conviction question before a conditional offer, and an individualized assessment before a denial based on conviction history. The clearance process is a separate federal determination under Security Executive Agent Directive 4, and the requisition can state the clearance as a requirement of the position.