AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Connolly and Dixon)

February 18, 2026

An act to amend Section 52.6 of the Civil Code, relating to human trafficking.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments, including, among others, airports, intercity passenger rail or light rail stations, bus stations, and truck stops, to post a notice, as developed by the Department of Justice, that contains information relating to slavery and human trafficking, including information regarding specified nonprofit organizations that a person can call for services or support in the elimination of slavery and human trafficking.

This bill would additionally require a privately operated entity that operates in a designated disaster site or designated mitigation site, as those terms are defined, that is involved in the response, recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, permitting related to recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, or efforts to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a disaster, to post the above-described notice. notice, except for telecommunications companies or internet service providers.

Existing law requires a business or other establishment that operates intercity passenger rail or light rail stations or bus stations to provide at least 20 minutes of training to specified employees in recognizing the signs of human trafficking and how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Existing law requires that training to include, among other things, the definition of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and guidance on how to identify individuals who are most at risk for human trafficking.

This bill would, starting June 1, 2027, require an a privately operated entity that operates in a designated disaster site or designated mitigation site to provide at least 20 minutes of training to all employees involved in specified disaster recovery or mitigation tasks. The bill would authorize the training to be developed or administered by a nonprofit or private entity with professional experience related to human trafficking and would require the training to be delivered in the language that is the most widely spoken language among the employees that will receive the training. The bill would require the training to include the same elements as the training described in the above-paragraph and examples and case scenarios relevant to how trafficking occurs at designated disaster sites and designated mitigation sites.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this bill to establish a minimum threshold for human trafficking awareness training and education. It is the intent of the Legislature that this bill shall not be construed to discourage or relieve an employer from providing for longer, more frequent, or more elaborate training and education regarding human trafficking awareness.

(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage employers to take all reasonable steps necessary to lead to the rescue identification of human trafficking victims and prevent any kind of human trafficking in their establishments.

SEC. 2.

Section 52.6 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

52.6.

(a) Each of the following businesses and other establishments shall, upon the availability of the model notice described in subdivision (d), (e), post a notice that complies with the requirements of this section in a conspicuous place near the public entrance of the establishment or in another conspicuous location in clear view of the public and employees where similar notices are customarily posted:

(1) On-sale general public premises licensees under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (Division 9 (commencing with Section 23000) of the Business and Professions Code).

(2) Adult or sexually oriented businesses, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 318.5 of the Penal Code.

(3) Primary airports, as defined in Section 47102(16) of Title 49 of the United States Code.

(4) Intercity passenger rail or light rail stations.

(5) Bus stations.

(6) Truck stops. For purposes of this section, “truck stop” means a privately owned and operated facility that provides food, fuel, shower or other sanitary facilities, and lawful overnight truck parking.

(7) Emergency rooms within general acute care hospitals.

(8) Urgent care centers.

(9) Facilities that provide pediatric care. For purposes of this section, “facilities that provide pediatric care” means a medical facility that provides pediatric services, as that term is defined in Section 16907.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(10) Farm labor contractors, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1682 of the Labor Code.

(11) Privately operated job recruitment centers.

(12) Roadside rest areas.

(13) Businesses or establishments that offer massage or bodywork services for compensation and are not described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 4612 of the Business and Professions Code.

(14) Hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 24045.12 of the Business and Professions Code, not including personal residences.

(15) Hair, nail, electrolysis, and skin care, and other related businesses or establishments subject to regulation under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 7301) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(16) A privately operated entity that operates in a designated disaster site that is involved in the response, recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, permitting related to recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, or efforts to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a disaster. For purposes of this section, “designated disaster site” means a structure or defined piece of land, or a group of contiguous structures or land, that was physically damaged or destroyed by a disaster as defined by Section 8680.3 of the Government Code. If the notice cannot be posted in a location as specified in subdivision (a), the employer shall keep the notice posted conspicuously at the place of work or otherwise where it can be seen as employees come or go to their places of work, as practicable, or at the office or nearest agency for payment kept by the employer.

(17) A privately operated entity that operates in a designated mitigation site that is involved in the response, recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, permitting related to recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, or efforts to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a disaster. For purposes of this section, “designated mitigation site” means a structure or defined piece of land, or a group of contiguous structures or land, that has been determined to require elimination of materials or fuel pursuant to Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code. If the notice cannot be posted in a location as specified in subdivision (a), the employer shall keep the notice posted conspicuously at the place of work or otherwise where it can be seen as employees come or go to their places of work, as practicable, or at the office or nearest agency for payment kept by the employer.

(c) The notice to be posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be at least 8½ inches by 11 inches in size, written in a 16-point font, and shall state the following:

(d) The notice to be posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be printed in English, Spanish, and in one other language that is the most widely spoken language in the county where the establishment is located and for which translation is mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10301 et seq.), as applicable. This section does not require a business or other establishment in a county where a language other than English or Spanish is the most widely spoken language to print the notice in more than one language in addition to English and Spanish.

(e) (1) On or before April 1, 2013, the Department of Justice shall develop a model notice that complies with the requirements of this section and make the model notice available for download on the department’s internet website.

(2) On or before January 1, 2019, the Department of Justice shall revise and update the model notice to comply with the requirements of this section and make the updated model notice available for download on the department’s internet website. A business or establishment required to post the model notice shall not be required to post the updated model notice until on and after January 1, 2019.

(f) On or before January 1, 2021, a business or other establishment that operates a facility described in paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a) shall provide at least 20 minutes of training to its new and existing employees who may interact with, or come into contact with, a victim of human trafficking or who are likely to receive, in the course of their employment, a report from another employee about suspected human trafficking, in recognizing the signs of human trafficking and how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

(g) The employee training pursuant to subdivisions (e) and (h) (f) and (i) shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The definition of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

(2) Myths and misconceptions about human trafficking.

(3) Physical and mental signs to be aware of that may indicate that human trafficking is occurring.

(4) Guidance on how to identify individuals who are most at risk for human trafficking.

(5) Guidance on how to report human trafficking, including, but not limited to, national hotlines (1-888-373-7888 and text line 233733) and contact information for local law enforcement agencies that an employee may use to make a confidential report.

(6) Protocols for reporting human trafficking when on the job.

(h) (1) The human trafficking employee training pursuant to subdivision (e) (f) may include, but shall not be limited to, information and material utilized in training Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority employees, private nonprofit organizations that represent the interests of human trafficking victims, and the Department of Justice.

(2) The failure to report human trafficking by an employee shall not, by itself, result in the liability of the business or other establishment that operates a facility described in paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a) or of any other person or entity.

(i) On or before June 1, 2027, an a privately operated entity that operates in an area described in paragraph (16) or (17) of subdivision (a) shall provide at least 20 minutes of training to all employees involved in the recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, permitting related to recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, or efforts to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a disaster. The training may be developed or administered by a nonprofit or private entity with professional experience related to human trafficking. The training shall be delivered in the language that is the most widely spoken language among the employees that will receive the training. The training shall include examples and case scenarios relevant to how trafficking occurs at designated disaster sites and designated mitigation sites.

(j) A business or establishment that fails to comply with the requirements of this section is liable for a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a first offense and two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each subsequent offense. A government entity identified in Section 17204 of the Business and Professions Code may bring an action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this subdivision against a business or establishment if a local or state agency with authority to regulate that business or establishment has satisfied both of the following:

(1) Provided the business or establishment with reasonable notice of noncompliance, which informs the business or establishment that it is subject to a civil penalty if it does not correct the violation within 30 days from the date the notice is sent to the business or establishment.

(2) Verified that the violation was not corrected within the 30-day period described in paragraph (1).

(k) This section does not prevent a local governing body from adopting and enforcing a local ordinance, rule, or regulation to prevent slavery or human trafficking. If a local ordinance, rule, or regulation duplicates or supplements the requirements that this section imposes upon businesses and other establishments, this section does not supersede or preempt that local ordinance, rule, or regulation.

(l) The Attorney General may enforce this section.

(m) Fines collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Survivors Support Fund.