California’s Plans for the Future of Work, Workers, and a Renewed Social Compact Description California, it’s often been quipped, is where the future happens first. From technology and entertainment to policy and social reform, California is often at the leading edge of our latest trends—and work is no exception. While California boasts a strong economy by many measures of growth, too many Californians have not enjoyed the benefits of the state’s broader economic success and the extraordinary wealth generated. As the nation grapples with demographic and geographic economic inequities that have been growing over the first two decades of the 21st century, and that have been exacerbated in this time of national crisis, what does the Golden State plan to do so that workers of every race, ethnicity, geography and gender have what they need to support themselves and their families, and thrive now and in the future?