What Does an Oakland Startup Need to File and Adopt by Its 15th Employee?

By its 15th employee, an Oakland startup should be registered with the EDD, carry workers’ compensation, give each hire the Labor Code 2810.5 notice, report new hires within 20 days, post pay scales in job postings and hold written harassment, injury prevention and workplace violence policies. The 15th hire adds federal discrimination law and the pay scale rule.

I hold a J.D. and an MS-HRM, I am not an attorney, and I live and work in Oakland. My guide to which California HR laws apply at your headcount and my guide to startup HR by funding stage list the thresholds. This piece does something different: it takes the 15th hire as a deadline and lays out what to file, what to adopt and the order I would build it in.

What does the 15th employee change?

Two things change at 15, and most of the rest should already be done. The pay scale rule begins, and two federal anti-discrimination statutes begin to apply alongside California’s.

Under Labor Code 432.3, an employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in any job posting. Federally, Title VII reaches employers with fifteen or more employees, and so does the Americans with Disabilities Act. California’s own discrimination law starts earlier: the Civil Rights Council’s regulation covers an employer regularly employing five or more individuals.

Count carefully when you test these lines. The Civil Rights Council’s definition counts people an employer employs for any part of the day, and the Civil Rights Department’s training FAQ says to count employees anywhere, not only those who work in California. A startup with 12 on payroll and four part-timers is at 16, not 12.

Other lines sit further out. The federal age discrimination law starts at twenty employees, and so does federal COBRA, which is why a startup at 15 is still in the California continuation coverage system known as Cal-COBRA, which covers employers with 2 to 19 employees, per the Department of Managed Health Care. Pay data reporting is far off, at 100 employees.

Which filings and registrations should already be done?

Five, and every one runs on a clock that starts with your first employee, not your fifteenth. If any is missing at 15, fix it first, because it is the cheapest item on this list to correct.

• EDD registration. The EDD says you must register within 15 days after you pay more than $100 in wages in a calendar quarter.
• New hire reports. Each hire goes to the EDD within 20 days of the start-of-work date, and a rehire after at least 60 days away counts as a new report.
• Workers’ compensation. Labor Code 3700 requires every employer to secure the payment of compensation, and the Department of Industrial Relations says that failing to carry coverage is a criminal offense.
• Employment eligibility. Federal rules require Section 2 of the I-9 within three business days of the hire, and Section 1 at the time of hire, per 8 CFR 274a.2.
• Oakland registration. The City of Oakland says anyone who conducts business in the city must register the business with the city. I did not confirm the new-business deadline or the tax amount, so check the city page for yours.

A startup that grew from three to fifteen people in a year often skips the first one. Pull your EDD account number and your last four quarterly filings, and confirm that every person on payroll has a new hire report behind them.

Which written policies and notices must be in place?

Five written items matter most at this size. I keep the list short, and I link my fuller guide to what a California employee handbook must include instead of repeating it.

First, a harassment prevention policy and training. The Civil Rights Department FAQ says employers of five or more must train, supervisors for two hours and everyone else for one hour every two years. New hires get it within six months, and the FAQ lists January 1, 2027 as the next deadline. My harassment training guide shows how to schedule it.

Second, a written injury and illness prevention program. 8 CCR 3203 requires it in writing, and employers with fewer than 10 employees get more room on how they communicate hazards. At 15 you are past that line.

Third, a workplace violence prevention plan. Labor Code 6401.9 requires a written plan with annual review and training. Its exemption for places with fewer than 10 employees applies only when the place is not accessible to the public, so most 15-person startups need the plan. My guide to the workplace violence prevention plan covers it in full.

Fourth, the written notice at hire under Labor Code 2810.5, with any change given in writing within seven calendar days, and the paid sick leave notice under Labor Code 246 on the wage statement or in a separate writing on payday.

Fifth, the posters. DIR lists the required workplace notices, including minimum wage, paid sick leave, payday, safety and health, and whistleblower protections, and the Civil Rights Department lists its own posters. For a remote team, I send the same notices to each employee in writing.

What does Oakland add at this size?

Oakland sets its own minimum wage and sick leave rules, and both apply from your first Oakland employee. The city’s wage poster page lists the Oakland minimum wage as $17.34 an hour in 2026.

I found no published Oakland rate for 2027. The state rate rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027, per DIR, which is above Oakland’s 2026 number, so my reading is that Oakland’s figure must at least match it. Watch the city page in December.

Sick leave is the second Oakland rule. The accrual rate is one hour for every 30 hours worked. Under the city’s Measure FF regulations, small businesses may cap accrual at 40 hours and all others at 72. At 15 employees you are on the 72-hour side. Hospitality employers face a separate Measure FF rule on service charges. I keep a plain-English page on Oakland employment laws for employers, and I update it when the city posts a change.

What do pay scales and equal pay require at 15?

The pay scale in every posting, and an equal pay record you can defend. The pay scale is a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly range, per Labor Code 432.3. If a third party publishes your posting, you must give it the pay scale, and a violation carries a civil penalty of $100 to $10,000. The Labor Commissioner reads the rule to reach any job that may be filled in California, including remotely, per its equal pay page.

The same statute bars you from asking about salary history or relying on it to set pay, and it lets an applicant ask for the pay scale for the role. Equal pay under Labor Code 1197.5 applies at every size, and you must keep pay records for three years. My guide on how to set a pay range for a new role shows how to build the number, and my piece on pay ranges under 15 employees covers the other side of the line.

In what order should you build it?

Build from the penalty down, one week at a time. I would not try to write a perfect handbook first.

• Week one: confirm the EDD account, new hire reports and workers’ compensation policy for every employee.
• Week two: issue or refresh each employee’s written notice at hire, and post the required notices.
• Week three: adopt the written harassment, injury prevention and workplace violence policies, and schedule training before January 1, 2027.
• Week four: add pay scales to every open posting and set the Oakland rates on your payroll calendar.

My compliance calendar shows the recurring dates, and my California compliance risk score shows which gaps to close first.

What should you do this week?

Pick one of three moves, depending on where you stand.

• If you have no handbook, start with the policies in section three and the notices at hire.
• If you have a handbook, compare it to my list with the handbook gap checker.
• If you are not sure what you have, send your EDD account, your policies and your last payroll register to a reviewer before you hire number 16.

My HR compliance check-up does the third one, with a ranked list of what to fix and in what order.

Sources

• Labor Code 432.3, pay scale and salary history, read October 29, 2026
• EDD, register as an employer, read October 29, 2026
• EDD, new employee registry DE 34, read October 29, 2026
• Labor Code 2810.5, notice to employee, read October 29, 2026
• City of Oakland, minimum wage poster page, read October 29, 2026
• DIR News Release 2026-66, read October 29, 2026

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.

Data current as of October 2026. Sources are linked where each figure appears.