On June 30, 2025, the California Civil Rights Council (“CRC” or “Council”) secured final approval for revisions to Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations, which governs administration of the California Civil Rights...more
Los Angeles County, California, recently joined the cities of Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose and Emeryville, California; New York City; Philadelphia; Chicago; Seattle; and Oregon as jurisdictions that have...more
As employers deal with all the changes at the federal level, they should also be mindful of potential changes at the state level, specifically in California. As we see companies evaluating the type of data they are...more
California’s legislature covered a wide array of labor and employment law topics in the 2024 legislative session. The laws discussed below were signed into law by Governor Newsom and will become effective on January 1, 2025,...more
12/31/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
On September 22, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 3234 (“AB 3234”), which requires employers to disclose the results of audits on child labor practices. Specifically, effective January 1,...more
Following other states and cities across the nation, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), into law on September 28, 2024. This new law aims to provide greater...more
On July 24, 2024, California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced that the Indoor Heat Illness Prevention regulation, which the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved on June 20, 2024, would take effect...more
7/29/2024
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Heat Exposure ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) ,
Severe Weather ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
After years of litigation, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 22, a voter-approved law allowing app-based drivers to work as independent contractors. The Court rejected a challenge by a group of labor unions,...more
7/26/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mobile Apps ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Unions ,
Workers’ Compensation
What do you get when you combine a business-backed ballot initiative, the state legislature and governor’s office, and labor organizations? A deal. California style.
By now you have heard of the deal to reform the...more
The regular monthly meeting of the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on March 21, 2024 was anything but regular. The agenda had included voting on a proposed indoor heat illness prevention standard that has been under development for...more
It’s almost spring, and you know what that means! It’s almost time to file the California pay data reports. Last year was the first year for filing expanded pay data reports under SB1162, which requires private employers with...more
2/23/2024
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Equal Pay ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
Two new laws will take effect next year that restrict how employers may respond to worker off-duty cannabis use. One law will restrict employers’ ability to ask about prior cannabis use in the hiring process, and the other...more
10/27/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
California ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws
California’s legislature covered a wide array of labor and employment law topics this legislative session. The laws discussed below were signed into law by Governor Newsom and will become effective on January 1, 2024 unless...more
10/27/2023
/ California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence
On October 11, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law allowing for leaves of absence for reproductive-related losses. Senate Bill 848 makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant an...more
10/12/2023
/ Bereavement Leave ,
California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Leave of Absence ,
Miscarriages ,
New Legislation ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
For years, California has led the way in the fast food industry, with several prominent brands having their origins in the Golden State. More recently, California has shown innovation in the ways that the employment of fast...more
9/12/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Food Service Workers ,
IWC ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
We are in the final stretch of the California legislature’s first year of a two-year session. One bill that sped through the legislative process—without any registered opposition—is Senate Bill 699, which extends the state’s...more
9/7/2023
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
On July 5, 2023, the California Senate voted 34-1 in favor of clarifying existing law by defining “ancestry” to include “caste” as protected within the state’s anti-discrimination statutes....more
As happens this time every year in California, legislators and the governor are crafting a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget bill currently under consideration in Sacramento contains a startling and...more
6/27/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IWC ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State Budgets ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
4/21/2023
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Wage and Hour
With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.” This...more
2/22/2023
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Los Angeles, California recently joined San Francisco and Emeryville, California; New York City; Philadelphia; Chicago; Seattle; Euless, Texas; and Oregon as jurisdictions that have enacted “fair workweek” legislation. The...more
2/9/2023
/ California ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Franchises ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
On January 1, 2023, California’s new pay transparency law requiring pay scales in job openings will go into effect. Although Senate Bill 1162 was passed in September, many employers were left to wonder how the California...more
California state and local governmental bodies—our state legislature, and counties and cities—were active again this year in their efforts to regulate the workplace. Littler Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these...more
10/6/2022
/ Amended Regulation ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Pay transparency laws have gathered steam across the country. California follows Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington, New York City, Cincinnati, and Toledo, among other jurisdictions, in enacting...more
10/6/2022
/ California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Transparency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A bill with significant implications for California’s fast food industry is on its way to Governor Newsom’s Desk. On August 29, 2022, the State Senate passed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (AB 257)....more
9/1/2022
/ California ,
Employees ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour