By: Kristina M. Launey and Catherine Feldman
Seyfarth Synopsis: With Governor Newsom’s October 13 deadline to sign bills behind us, we review California’s new employment laws. The most notable among them are new pay equity requirements, amendments to Cal-WARN and leave laws, and extensions of meal and rest period exemptions for certain industries.
According to Chris Micheli, Governor Newsom
Continue Reading California 2025 Bill Signing Wrap Up: New Employment LawsSeyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature concluded its 2024-2025 session in the wee hours of September 13, 2025, and sent the last of its approved bills to Governor Newsom for consideration. The Governor has until October 13 to approve or veto a variety of bills impacting employers in California.
The California Legislature put pencils down on September 13, 2025, and sent
Continue Reading California Legislative Update: Legislature’s Pens Down, Governor Gets to Work
California Employers, Watch For Sharp Turns Ahead
If you operate a business in California, you know how difficult it is to keep up with ever-changing legal trends. California employers should review and refresh their workplace postings each year to keep up with legislative changes and annual minimum wage increases. Various California state agencies, including the Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”)
Continue Reading Signs You Can’t Ignore If You’re Doing Business In CaliforniaUpdate: On December 2, 2024, California updated its Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions, which address the expanded reasons for use of California paid sick leave detailed below.
Seyfarth Synopsis: Out with the old and in with the new. Governor Newsom recently signed new laws which extend and clarify employees’ available reasons for use of California paid sick
Continue Reading New and Improved California Leave Provisions for 2025Seyfarth Synopsis: With the Governor’s September 30 deadline to sign bills behind us, we review the employment bills that made the cut to become laws, as well as those that didn’t survive the season. The most notable new laws read intersectionality into FEHA protected categories, recast victims’ time off provisions, adjust paid family leave, and impact protections for freelance workers
Continue Reading Legislative Update: Bills That Made the Final Cut For 2024Seyfarth Synopsis: The Legislature concluded its 2023-24 session in the wee hours of its August 31, 2024, deadline to pass bills. Now it’s up to Governor Newsom to call the plays as to what employment bills he will sign into law. The bills for his consideration read intersectionality into FEHA protected categories, recast victims’ time off provisions, adjust paid family
Continue Reading Legislative Update: Legislature Hikes the Ball For Signing KickoffSeyfarth Synopsis: The reporting deadline for the 2023 California pay data reporting cycle is only six weeks away. Employers with at least 100 employees with at least one California employee must file their Pay Data Report with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) by May 8, 2024. While the reporting requirements are largely the same as the 2022 reporting
Continue Reading Six Weeks To Go Until California’s Pay Data Reporting DeadlineSeyfarth Synopsis: Taking it down to the wire, Governor Newsom approved the vast majority of labor and employment bills that ran the legislative gauntlet, including bills that will expand pay data reporting and pay scale disclosure requirements, extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, create mandatory wages and working conditions for fast food workers, and more.
On the night before his
Continue Reading California Employment Legislative Update: Pay Transparency Headlines 2022 SessionSeyfarth Synopsis: SB 1162, approved by Governor Newsom on Tuesday, September 27, will require employers starting January 1, 2023, to disclose pay scales to current employees and on job postings, and to report even more pay data to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly DFEH), including median and mean hourly rates.
On September 27, 2022, Governor Newsom signed another
Continue Reading SB 1162 Approved: Prepare for Greater Pay Transparency RequirementsSeyfarth Synopsis: Having run the legislative gauntlet, the fate of California’s 2022 employment bills now lie with Governor Newsom’s pen, including bills that would expand pay data reporting and pay scale requirements, extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, and create mandatory wages and working conditions for fast food workers, and more.
August 31, 2022, marked the close of the 2022
Continue Reading Final Round: Employment Bills Making The Cut To The Governor