Does your employer provide free parking to you and your co-workers? Do they have at least 50 employees? Are they able to reduce the parking spots in their lease agreement without penalty? If so, and you choose to commute via bike, public transit, walking, giving up the space designated for your use, you may be entitled to monthly compensation through California’s Parking Cash-Out Law.

Approximately 3% of California workplaces are subject to this law. It does not apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees who own their buildings or those who lease and are not able to give up parking spaces without financial penalty.

Details about the law are available from the California Air Resources Board.

As the commercial real estate market changes post COVID and some telecommuting becomes the norm, "unbundled" parking—where a certain amount of parking is not required for leasing along with office space—may become more common, and thus the Parking Cash-Out Law may be applied more widely.

For now, if you’re interested and think you might qualify, ask your employer for details.