AB 2150 adds employer-paid naloxone training for employees required to certify in CPR
Oct 11, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0136 · Published 2026-10-11 · Version 3 · Final
AB 2150 adds employer-paid naloxone training for California employees whose employer requires CPR certification. The September 20 law recognizes documented EMSA-equivalent training, limits EMSA's role to content approval, and states that education does not create an independent duty to administer medication or expand practice authority.
What happened
California enacted AB 2150 on September 20 as Chapter 384. An employer operating in California that requires CPR certification training must also require the affected employees to complete an EMSA-approved online video module on naloxone and pay the training cost. The module is separate from the CPR curriculum and must cover overdose recognition, appropriate emergency response, and proper administration of naloxone or another approved opioid antagonist. EMSA approves content against those minimum standards; the section does not assign it ongoing employer-compliance monitoring or enforcement.
An employee's existing CPR, first-aid, or other training can satisfy the requirement when EMSA determines it meets or exceeds the minimum content and the employer retains documentation. Existing clinical staffing or an internal medication policy alone does not exempt an employer, but the equivalent-training route remains available. The statute expressly creates no independent duty, authorization, or expectation to administer naloxone and preserves scope-of-practice, medication-administration, and delegation rules. It establishes a training floor and preserves broader or more protective requirements under other rulemaking authorities, rather than treating this module as proof of compliance with every workplace standard.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Directly applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
- Recorded date
- 2027-01-01
- Date type
- effective
Why it matters
Clinical staffing or internal medication policies do not alone exempt an employer. The training requirement does not expand medication-administration authority or professional scope.
Recommended action
HR and clinical education should identify employees required to certify in CPR, budget approved naloxone training, retain equivalent-training determinations and preserve medication scope controls before January 2027.
Sources
- AB 2150, Chapter 384, final textOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-20 · Source review 2026-10-01
- AB 2150 official bill historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-20 · Source review 2026-10-01
- AB2150 current official textOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-20 · Source review 2026-10-11
- California Constitution, Article IV section 8(c), official Assembly 2023–24 editionOfficial · California State Assembly · Source review 2026-10-14
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