In the wake of Trump administration executive orders and regulatory actions, Democratic-led states across the nation have taken bold steps to counteract policies they view as regressive. There are 17 states that are led by...more
4/16/2025
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Trump Administration
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
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
States and some cities were especially active this year passing workplace legislation, many of which create new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) has been tracking these laws as...more
11/25/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers’ Compensation
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
There has been growing interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs in recent years. They are being evaluated for use in the treatment of conditions such as depression (including easing depression in patients...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
Hot off the press – here is Littler’s mid-year report! As federal regulators, states and cities continue to pass new workplace regulations through the calendar year, we summarize each state’s notable labor and employment law...more
6/21/2024
/ 401k ,
Child Labor ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Tax ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Popular ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Safety
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
The federal government, states, counties, and cities were active again this year passing workplace legislation intended for the most part to protect employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s...more
11/27/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
State Labor Laws ,
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
California enacted two new bills expanding the scope and consequences of the state’s policies against restrictive covenants. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 699 into law on September 1, 2023, and Assembly Bill 1076 into...more
10/18/2023
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
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
Traditionally, January 1 has been the key date for which employers must prepare to implement new labor and employment compliance obligations for new laws passed within the previous year. For the past several years, we have...more
Illinois employers already required to make pay disclosures for the Equal Pay Registration Certificate (ERPC) process would face even more stringent pay transparency duties under legislation currently headed to Governor...more
Executive Summary -
Widespread economic uncertainty. Evolving workforce expectations. Accelerating use of artificial intelligence (AI). A shifting patchwork of local, state and federal regulations.
Numerous headwinds...more
5/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
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