The Overview

The state holiday honoring farmworkers just moved dates and got a new name. California's Farmworkers Day bill, SB 1394, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 27, shifting the state holiday from March 31 to April 10 and replacing the Cesar Chavez Day designation on that date. The renaming follows sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez, whom California has long honored with a state holiday, a school curriculum presence and hundreds of public place names. ​

On March 18, 2026, The New York Times published an investigation naming three women who accused Chavez of sexual assault, including co-founder of the United Farm Workers Dolores Huerta, who said Chavez raped her. The United Farm Workers called the accusations "indefensible" and canceled its Cesar Chavez Day events, and Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was open to renaming the state holiday.

Local governments in San Diego and Sacramento also began reviewing whether to rename landmarks bearing Chavez's name, according to CalMatters. California farmworkers face persistent health risks from pesticide exposure and low wages, conditions that KQED linked to workplace injuries, chronic illness and stress among farmworker families. The Secretary of State chaptered the bill as Chapter 708, Statutes of 2026, on Sept. 27, 2026.

What the Law Does

The law removes March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day from the list of holidays on which community colleges and public schools may close, and adds April 10 as Farmworkers Day in its place. The bill applies the holiday time-off rules for state employees, certain community college employees and public school employees to Farmworkers Day, which falls on April 10.

The law also requires the governor to proclaim April 10 as Farmworkers Day each year, and it repeals the separate Aug. 26 California Farmworker Day designation entirely, including the annual proclamation requirement tied to that date. That means California, which previously recognized farmworkers on two separate dates, now consolidates that recognition into a single April 10 holiday.

Legislative Status

Sen. Lena Gonzalez authored the bill, SB 1394. Sen. Anna Caballero and Asm. Lisa Calderon are both Democrats from California.

Every recorded vote was unanimous or nearly so. A Senate committee passed it 7-0 on April 7. The full Senate passed it 33-0 on May 22. The Assembly passed it 79-0 on Aug. 30, and the Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 38-1 the same day. From introduction to the governor's signature, the bill took approximately 219 days.

Gonzalez said the bill "takes the next step in ensuring our state appropriately commemorates the entire farmworker movement and recognizes the workers who sustain our vital agricultural industry and honors the sacrifices they made to fight for better wages and working conditions," according to a legislative newsletter from her office. The near-unanimous votes across both chambers suggest the change drew little organized opposition at the Capitol.

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