California Offer Letter
California presumes at-will employment, but it regulates the offer stage more closely than most states. Pay scale disclosure, a ban on salary history questions, a written wage notice and limits on conviction history checks all apply before the first day. Repayment clauses face a new statute for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027.
What California law does to this document
At-will is the statutory default
Employment with no specified term may be ended at the will of either party on notice to the other. A term of employment means a period longer than one month. An offer letter that states an annual salary does not create a term, but language promising employment for a set period can displace the presumption.
Cal. Lab. Code § 2922Pay scale and salary history
An employer may not ask for an applicant's salary history or rely on it in setting pay. It must give the pay scale to an applicant on reasonable request, and an employer with 15 or more employees must put the pay scale in every job posting. Since January 1, 2026 "pay scale" means a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay on hire. The Labor Commissioner may assess $100 to $10,000 per violation.
Cal. Lab. Code § 432.3The exempt salary floor moves each January
An exempt executive, administrative or professional employee must earn a monthly salary of at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time work. The minimum wage is $16.90 per hour in 2026, which makes the floor $70,304 per year. On January 1, 2027 the minimum wage rises to $17.40 and the floor rises to $72,384.
Cal. Lab. Code § 515(a)A separate wage notice is due at hire
At the time of hiring the employer must give a covered employee a written notice. It states the rate and basis of pay, the regular payday, the employer's legal name and address, the workers' compensation carrier and paid sick leave rights. The offer letter does not replace this notice. The Labor Commissioner publishes a template.
Cal. Lab. Code § 2810.5Conviction history comes after the offer
An employer with five or more employees may not ask about or consider conviction history until it has made a conditional offer. If it then intends to deny the job because of a conviction, it must make an individualized assessment and follow the statute's notice steps. An offer letter made contingent on a background check should be written as that conditional offer.
Cal. Gov. Code § 12952Signing bonus repayment after January 1, 2027
For contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, a term that makes a worker pay the employer when the job ends is unlawful and void unless an exception applies. A 2026 amendment moved that start date from January 1, 2026. The exception for a discretionary bonus requires, among other conditions, a separate agreement, notice of the right to consult an attorney with at least five business days, and prorated repayment without interest over a retention period of no more than two years. A repayment term written into the offer letter itself does not meet the separate-agreement condition.
Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 16608; Cal. Lab. Code § 926Where people go wrong in California
- Entering a clawback period for the signing bonus in a letter signed on or after January 1, 2027, because the generator writes a full repayment term into the offer letter itself, which does not meet the separate-agreement and proration conditions of Business and Professions Code section 16608, so enter 0 and put any repayment terms in a separate agreement that meets the statute.
- Selecting a monthly pay schedule for a non-exempt employee when Labor Code section 204 requires most wages to be paid twice each calendar month.
- Counting on a jury waiver in the letter when Code of Civil Procedure section 631 lists the only ways a civil jury may be waived and a clause in a pre-dispute contract is not among them.
How the generator works
A clean, at-will employment offer letter that sets pay, role, start date, exempt/non-exempt status, equity, and contingencies without over-promising. Answer a short interview and the draft assembles as you go, with California already set as the governing state. Download it as PDF or Word. No fee. No account.