Legislation

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several Assembly Bills (AB) and Senate Bills (SB) that expand employee rights and increase workplace compliance obligations for employers.  Here is a rundown on the key new laws.  Unless otherwise specified, the laws take effect on January 1, 2026.Continue Reading California Update: New Employment Laws and Compliance Obligations for 2026

The California Civil Rights Council and the California Privacy Protection Agency have recently passed regulations that impose requirements on employers who use “automated-decision systems” or “automated decisionmaking technology,” respectively, in employment decisions or certain HR processes. On the legislative side, the California Legislature passed SB 7, which would impose additional obligations on employers who use these technologies; the bill is currently on the Governor’s desk. And, the Governor has signed SB 53, which provides certain employee whistleblower rights with respect to AI safety. Below, we discuss some of the key requirements in the new regulations and legislation.Continue Reading Navigating California’s New and Emerging AI Employment Regulations

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law a number of employment-related assembly bills (“AB”) and senate bills (“SB”), once again altering the landscape of workplace regulation in California.  With several key new laws taking effect as soon as January 1, 2025, now is the time for employers to prepare for compliance.Continue Reading It’s That Time Again: New California Workplace Laws for 2025

On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 399, the “California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act” (the “Act”) that should be of interest to any company with employees in the state. The Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2025, adds a new section to the California Labor Code to prohibit employers from taking or threatening adverse employment action against an employee because the employee refuses to attend employer meetings about, or to participate in, receive, or listen to, any communications about the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters. The law is similar to, but broader than, laws in several other states that attempt to decrease the influence of “captive audience” meetings communicating an employer’s political or religious opinions.Continue Reading California Joins Growing List of States Prohibiting Employer Action Against Employees Who Refuse Political or Religious Communications

Last night (Wednesday, March 18, 2020) the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act after it passed the Senate in the afternoon by a vote of 90-8.  The Act requires all private health plans to cover COVID-19 diagnostic testing—coverage that most insured and large self-insured health plans already are providing.  The Act also requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide up to ten weeks of paid FMLA leave and two weeks of paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19.  For small employers subject to these new leave mandates, the Act provides tax credits to help offset the cost of the mandates.  This means that the tax credits are not available to employers with 500 or more employees, even if they provide paid leave equal to or in excess of that required of smaller employers under the Act.  It is noteworthy that the Senate voted down amendments that would have expanded the bill’s paid FMLA leave or replaced the bill’s paid leave with state unemployment benefits.
Continue Reading Impact of New Coronavirus Mandatory Leave and Testing Legislation Largely Limited to Smaller Employers