Picture a longtime employee who suddenly cannot sleep, gets hit with hot flashes in the middle of a shift, and finds it harder to focus by the afternoon. She is not sick in the usual sense, and she is not slacking off. She is going through menopause, something roughly half the workforce will experience at some point. For a long time, that experience has been treated as a private matter to push through quietly. A bill moving through the California Legislature right now would change how the workplace is supposed to respond to it.
That bill is Assembly Bill 1940. This post explains in plain English what AB 1940 would do, where it stands today, and what it could mean for both workers and employers if it becomes law.
What Is AB 1940?
AB 1940 is a proposed California law introduced in the Assembly in February 2026. It would expand the meaning of "sex" under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the state's main anti-discrimination law, which most people just call FEHA.
Right now, FEHA's definition of sex already covers things like pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. AB 1940 would amend Government Code section 12926 to add perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and related medical conditions to that list. In plain terms, treating a worker badly because of menopause would be spelled out as a form of unlawful sex discrimination, the same category that covers pregnancy today.
Because it works through FEHA, the protection would generally apply to employers with five or more employees, which is the threshold FEHA already uses for its discrimination rules.
What the Bill Would Actually Do
AB 1940 makes three main changes. None of them is complicated, and together they point in one direction: making menopause a recognized workplace issue rather than something workers are expected to hide.
It Spells Out Menopause as Protected
The core of the bill is the definition change. By naming perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause directly in the law, AB 1940 would remove any guessing about whether these conditions count. An employer generally could not fire, demote, deny a promotion, or refuse a reasonable accommodation because of menopause-related conditions without risking a discrimination claim.
It Updates the Workplace Poster
By July 1, 2027, the bill would require the Civil Rights Department, the state agency that enforces FEHA, under an addition to Government Code section 12950, to update the mandatory workplace discrimination poster so it tells employees about their rights regarding menopause-related conditions. That is the same kind of poster many workers already see in a break room.
It Reaches Beyond the Workplace
The bill also amends Civil Code section 51, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which reaches business establishments rather than employers. That extends the same recognition outside the employment relationship, to how businesses in California treat customers and clients.
Struck on August 21, 2026. An earlier version would have required the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, under a new Government Code section 8245.5, to develop and distribute public education materials beginning July 1, 2027. The Senate amended that provision out on the floor. It is no longer in the bill.
Does the Law Already Cover Menopause?
This is the part many people miss. AB 1940 does not build a brand new system from scratch. In many cases, existing California law may already reach menopause-related conditions, and the bill is mostly making that coverage clear and hard to ignore.
Here is why. Under current FEHA rules, a medical condition that limits a major life activity can qualify as a disability. Severe menopause symptoms such as significant hot flashes, sleep disruption, fatigue, or trouble concentrating could, depending on the facts, meet that bar. When a condition qualifies as a disability, the employer generally has a duty to engage in what the law calls the interactive process, which is a back-and-forth conversation about possible accommodations, and to provide a reasonable accommodation unless doing so would be an undue hardship.
So even while AB 1940 is still pending, a worker dealing with serious menopause symptoms may already have rights under FEHA's disability and sex discrimination protections. The bill would make those rights explicit and far better known.
What Accommodations Could Look Like
Accommodation is a word that sounds bigger than it usually is. In practice, the adjustments that help someone manage menopause symptoms at work tend to be small and low cost. Depending on the job and the symptoms, they could include:
- Schedule flexibility. A later start after a rough night, or some control over shift timing.
- More frequent breaks. Short pauses to cool down or step away when a hot flash hits.
- Temperature control. A desk fan, a spot near better airflow, or a small change to a uniform policy.
- Modified duties. A temporary shift in tasks during a difficult stretch.
- Leave when needed. Time off may be available under the California Family Rights Act or other leave laws when a condition is serious enough to qualify.
The point of the interactive process is that the worker and the employer figure out together what actually helps, rather than one side guessing.
Where the Bill Stands Right Now
Status as of August 27, 2026, checked against the Legislature's own bill history. AB 1940 is still a proposal, not a law. It was read first time on February 13, 2026 and passed the Assembly on May 26, 2026 by 61 to 9. It moved to the Senate the next day, where the author amended it on June 4 and again on June 23. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed it on June 16 by 9 to 0, and the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee passed it on July 1 by 4 to 0.
On August 3, 2026 it went to the Appropriations Committee suspense file, which is where bills carrying a cost are held and where many of them quietly die. This one came off suspense. On August 13 the committee amended it and passed it as amended, 5 to 1, and it was returned to second reading; on August 17 it was read a second time and ordered to third reading. Then on August 21, 2026 it was read a third time, amended on the Senate floor, and ordered back to second reading. That amendment struck the public awareness campaign and added the Unruh Civil Rights Act change. On August 24, 2026 it was read a second time and ordered to third reading, so it sits on the Senate third reading file. To become law it would still need to pass the full Senate, return to the Assembly for concurrence in the Senate amendments, and be signed by the Governor. The Legislature's scheduled adjournment at the end of August makes the coming days decisive either way.
Note that it was amended again on August 21, so the description of its terms on this page may not match the current version. The bill's own text on the Legislature's site is the authority, not this page.
AB 1940 is also part of a broader push. The Governor's 2026-27 budget proposal included separate provisions aimed at improving access to menopause-related health care. And California is not alone, since states such as Illinois and Rhode Island, along with the city of Philadelphia, have moved to expand workplace protections tied to menopause. The direction of travel is fairly clear, even if this particular bill is not yet law.
What This Could Mean for California Workers
If AB 1940 becomes law, the biggest practical change is clarity. A worker who suspects menopause played a role in a write-up, a denied schedule change, or a termination would have a clearly named protection to point to, and a public campaign designed to help her understand it.
Even while the bill is pending, the underlying issues are real today. If you believe menopause-related symptoms are affecting your work and you may need an adjustment, it generally helps to make the request in writing and keep your own records. Our guide on how to request an accommodation in California walks through how to start that conversation, and our guide on documenting workplace issues covers how to keep a clear record. Existing protections, including the rules on workplace accommodations and against wrongful termination, may already apply depending on the facts.
What This Could Mean for California Employers
For employers, AB 1940 is a signal worth reading early, even before any final vote. The safer path is to assume the trend is here to stay and to make sure existing policies already handle these situations well.
Practical steps an employer can take now include reviewing accommodation and leave policies to confirm they are broad enough to cover menopause-related conditions, training managers and HR to recognize a request even when the word "menopause" is never used, and making sure the interactive process is actually happening and getting documented. Many of these are sensible practices regardless of whether this specific bill passes, and they line up with duties that may already exist under FEHA and the California Family Rights Act.
How Wiser Workplace Can Help
Disputes about accommodations and health conditions are often tense and easy to misread on both sides. A worker may feel dismissed or singled out. A manager may not realize a quiet request for a schedule change is tied to a medical condition that the law treats seriously. That gap, where neither side is acting in bad faith but the conversation has broken down, is exactly the kind of thing structured mediation is built to close.
A neutral mediator can help both sides slow down, get clear about what is actually being asked for, and work toward a practical fix without a long and costly court fight. That can be especially useful when the relationship is worth saving and a small adjustment could solve the problem.
Wiser Workplace is a California-based resolution platform that connects workers and employers with experienced neutrals who understand workplace disputes from both sides. The platform is built around California's mediation confidentiality protections, and it is designed to be accessible to workers without a lawyer and to employers who want to resolve issues efficiently. You can learn more about how workplace mediation works in California.
The Bottom Line
AB 1940 would take something millions of workers go through quietly and name it directly in California's anti-discrimination law. It would not force any worker to disclose anything, and it would not require expensive overhauls from employers. It would make clear that menopause is a workplace issue, that small accommodations are often the answer, and that punishing someone for it could be unlawful sex discrimination. For now it is a bill in motion, not a rule in force, but the conversation it reflects is not going away.