California Gift Cards After SB 22: Class Action Exposure and Compliance Strategies

California's SB 22—the 2025 amendments to Civil Code § 1749.5, operative April 1, 2026—has reset nearly two decades of tester-investigator exposure under the state's gift card statute. The cash-back trigger moved from $10 to $15, electronic and app-based gift cards are now within the statute for the first time, and the staff retraining and POS reconfiguration deadlines have already passed. A prior settlement at the old threshold offers no shield against a fresh complaint at the new one. Any retailer issuing or accepting gift cards in California—including multi-state programs—is now operating under a live statute that touches POS configuration, employee training, consumer-facing terms, and the open interaction with FinCEN's 2016 de minimis guidance. The program maps § 1749.5(b)(2) litigation, dual-track government enforcement, repeat litigation against previously settled defendants, and concrete POS, training, and documentation workflows under the amendments. Attendees will be able to audit exposure, remediate gaps, and document a defensible record before the next tester complaint lands.

What Will You Learn

Learn the SB 22 amendments to California Civil Code § 1749.5, the litigation history under § 1749.5(b)(2), and the operational steps retailers must take under the live statute.

What Will You Gain

Gain a concrete compliance roadmap for POS configuration, employee training, defensive documentation, consumer-facing terms, and the interaction between the new $15 threshold and FinCEN's 2016 de minimis guidance.

Key topics to be discussed:

• Statutory framework
  Apply California Civil Code § 1749.5 and SB 22 amendments.
• Class action exposure
  Anticipate litigation under § 1749.5(b)(2) against retailers.
• Repeat litigation
  Manage exposure even after prior settlements at lower thresholds.
• POS audit
  Reconfigure POS systems for the new $15 threshold.
• Employee training
  Retrain staff on cash-back rules before April 1, 2026.
• FinCEN guidance
  Address SB 22 impact on FinCEN's 2016 de minimis opinion.

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Closed-captioning available