Recent California appellate decisions are reshaping how religious organizations may need to think about wage and hour exposure.
’Tis the Season for California’s New Employment Laws: Employer Considerations for 2026
As California employers head into another year of compliance planning, the Golden State legislature has not slowed down. From higher wage thresholds and expanded pay-equity rules to sweeping changes affecting AI use, layoffs, and worker mobility, the coming year brings a slate of employment law updates that HR, legal, and business leaders may want to
California Expands Whistleblower Retaliation Protections for Employees in the AI Sector
On Sept. 29, 2025, California Gov. Newsom signed Senate Bill 53, the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, into law.
Continue Reading California Expands Whistleblower Retaliation Protections for Employees in the AI Sector
California Court Turns Up the Heat: PG&E Case Requires Employees Claiming Defamation to Prove Damages Beyond Their Termination
Employees may believe they can premise a defamation case on their employment termination. However, Hearn v. Pac. Gas & Elec. Co., 108 Cal. App. 5th 301 (2025), holds otherwise.
Continue Reading California Court Turns Up the Heat: PG&E Case Requires Employees Claiming Defamation to Prove Damages Beyond Their Termination
First Circuit Denies Extraterritorial Effect of California Noncompete Law
On Sept. 26, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled California’s statutory ban of noncompete agreements does not override Massachusetts law permitting noncompete agreements where the subject employee never worked in California.
Gov. Newsom Announces Landmark Private Attorneys General Act Reforms
This November, California voters were expecting to vote on a measure that would replace the current Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) statute with the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act (FPEAA). In a plot twist similar to what unfolded with respect to the recently enacted FAST Act, Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders announced in
Whose Case Is It Anyway? Trial Court Orders State of California to Pay Court Costs in PAGA Action
By now, it’s a familiar maxim: when an employee brings an action under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), “the state is the real party in interest.” Iskanian v. CLS Transp. L.A., LLC. That concept is the jumping-off point for anyone wishing to understand the procedural complexities of PAGA litigation. Under the guise of
’Tis the Season for California’s 2024 Legislative Update: What Employers Need to Prepare for
With the festive season upon us, California employers can look forward to hanging lights, holiday cheer, and, of course, the new employment laws and compliance challenges taking effect in the New Year. Instead of interrupting your favorite holiday tradition to trek through California’s new legislation (likely without appropriate cold-weather clothing in true California fashion), this
How the NLRA May Slow Down the FAST Act
With substantial union backing, California’s controversial Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, A.B. 257 or the FAST Act, moved through California’s Legislature with relative ease.
As the president of the Service Employees International Union, Mary Kay Henry, told Bloomberg News, the bill effectively offers “another form of collective bargaining” for fast food workers.
California Court of Appeals are Split on Whether Employers Can Dismiss a PAGA Claim Based on Manageability
In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., 76 Cal. App. 5th 685 (2022), the California Court of Appeal, in relevant part, reversed a trial court’s order decertifying a subclass and dismissing related Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims as unmanageable. In doing so, the court held “a court cannot strike a PAGA claim based